Alaska Airlines pilot recalls terrifying moment door plug blew off aircraft

An Alaska Airlines pilot has recalled the moment the door plug blew off her aircraft back in January, explaining that she “didn’t know that there was a hole in the airplane until we landed.”

Emily Wiprud said the first indication of an issue “was an explosion in my ears and then a whoosh of air” and that she initially believed that passengers were sucked out of plane.

“I was so thankful, I was in shock, in disbelief,” she added, when realising all passengers were accounted for.

In the chaos, during which the Boeing 737 Max 9 jet lost the large panel, Ms Wiprud’s headset went flying out of the aircraft, as did some passengers’ mobile phones.