On Monday afternoon, an Alaska Airlines flight from Seattle to San Diego was forced to make an emergency return to SeaTac Airport when the pilots detected alarming “unusual vibrations” shortly after takeoff.
One of the two CFM-produced turbofan engines that are powering the approximately 4 years old Boeing 737-900 aircraft was the source of the vibration.
A passenger on board the flight posted a spectacular video of the engine’s cowling being ripped off as the aircraft touched down back at SeaTac on social media.
Alaska Airlines reported in a statement that all 176 passengers and six crew members were unharmed and that the aircraft had now been taken out of service for an investigation.
A spokeswoman for the airline claimed that the emergency was handled with “tremendous professionalism and care” by the crew of flight AS558.
The jet reached about 12,000 feet, according to information from FlightRadar24, before immediately dropping and turning back to SeaTac Airport, where it safely touched down about 40 minutes after departure.
The reason for Wednesday’s cowl collapse is still unknown.
