PORTLAND, Oregon – The National Transportation Safety Board held a press conference on Monday night to provide updates on the investigation of the accident aboard Alaska Air Flight 1282. This comes after a door plug blew off at 16,000 feet shortly after takeoff from Portland on January 5.
NTSB Chair Jennifer Homendy addressed the public during the press conference and provided information about the ongoing investigation. This marks the third briefing by NTSB officials, and it began around 8:15 p.m. During the first briefing on Saturday, Homendy urged the public to look for the door plug in an area around Barnes Road in the Cedar Hills neighborhood. On Sunday, she reported that the door plug had been found in a Portland school teacher’s backyard, and two cellphones connected to passengers on the flight were also recovered.
Homendy also revealed that the pressurization warning system on the Alaska Airlines Boeing 737 Max 9 had gone off 3 times within a month, including the day before the accident on Flight 1282. The crews reported it each time, the system was tested and reset, and records show that maintenance personnel had tested and reset the system. Additionally, Alaska Airlines had restricted the aircraft from long flights over water so the plane could return quickly to an airport if the warning light reappeared, according to Homendy.
The investigation into the accident is ongoing, and KOIN 6 News will continue to provide updates on the situation.