hello, i m lauren taylor. we start with drama on an alaska airlines flight in america which had to make an emergency landing, after a part of the fuselage fell off in mid air. despite the issues, no one was hurt, and everyone was able to leave the plane safely. these pictures illustrate where the part of the fuselage went missing. it appears to have been the panel which houses a door. it s not thought anyone was in the seat next to the panel when it failed. audio has emerged of the moment the onboard crew informed flight control of what was happening take a listen. we are declaring an emergency. we are descending down to 10,000. to recap what was said there the crew was declaring an emergency, and carrying out an urgent descent. it s not yet known what caused the panel to detach from the plane but here s what we do know about the incident so far. there were 177 passengers and crew on board. there are no reports of any physical injuries. the flight was heading
seats as ryanair managed to squeeze in, they would be forced by regulators to activate another emergency exit to comply with regulations. it is a side wall panel that houses an emergency exit that alaska airlines does not use because it does not have a high density cabin. from the outside it looks like a door but from the inside it s just a normal side wall panel. it is that panel that at 16,000 feet ultimately triggered or was part of a decompression where it had blown out. that separation of the panel leaving the aircraft of course triggers a decompression scenario that means the crew have to jump into place and into action to ensure that not only passenger seated with their seat belts fastened but they are able to withstand the vacuum that then occurs because we have had scenarios decades ago in aviation where this has happened where passengers have quite literally been sucked out of the aircraft cabin,
very closely. simonjones, bbc news. the uk s civil aviation authority. let s look at what we know about the panel which became detached from the fuselage. aviation analyst alex macheras explains how it differs from other panels on the plane. what we have seen in this incident is the aircraft departed as normal and was climbing to its cruising altitude and just as it reached around 16,000 feet we know that a side wall panel, to explain the simply, if you are sitting in an aircraft cabin you are on a seat on the side wall panels on the left and right, basically this shape sidewall through the tube shape of the aircraft. that panel on the left side that houses a deactivated emergency exit door, so to the passengers it looks like a normal side wall panel but for us in aviation we know that if alaska airlines were to put more seats into that cabin, for example, as many
from portland to california and the panel became detached not long after take off. the plane had reached an altitude of 16,000 feet that sjust under 5,000 metres and the emergency breathing apparatus was deployed inside the cabin. the plane returned to the airport in portland around 35 minutes after taking off, and landed safely. the aircraft is a boeing 737 max 9. alaska airlines operates 65 of the planes and has temporarily grounded its fleet of them, for inspection. the plane s manufacturer, boeing, says it is aware of the incident and is working to gather more information. and america s national transportation safety board says it is investigating the incident. let s hear now from a passenger who was on board the alaska airlines flight, evan smith, who spoke to reporters after landing back at the airport in portland. who spoke to reporters after landing wide as a refrigerator and about as high as two thirds of a refrigerator in height. there was a very loud bang towards t
close scrutiny since those two accidents of years ago. we know the airline has now accidents of years ago. we know the airline has now branded accidents of years ago. we know the airline has now branded the - accidents of years ago. we know the airline has now branded the rest - accidents of years ago. we know the airline has now branded the rest of l airline has now branded the rest of the fleet. tell us a bit more about the fleet. tell us a bit more about the incident itself. when it happens, what are the mechanics of it and what will the pilot have had to do? it s good news, everyone is safely down. to do? it s good news, everyone is safely down- to do? it s good news, everyone is safely down. what we have seen in this incident safely down. what we have seen in this incident is safely down. what we have seen in this incident is at safely down. what we have seen in this incident is at the safely down. what we have seen in this incident is at the aircraft - safely down. wh