Alaska Airlines Boeing incident: Co-pilot only discovered door falling off after returning to tarmac

The co-pilot of the Alaska Airlines Boeing that lost a door in flight in January said in an interview broadcast by CBS News that she didn't notice the door falling until the plane landed.

Explosion, air blast, emergency landing: the co-pilot of the Alaska Airlines Boeing that lost a door in flight in January said in an interview broadcast Wednesday that she surprisingly didn't discover the gaping hole until she was back on the tarmac.

“There was an explosion in my ears, and then a blast of air,”, Emily Wiprud recalled in this interview with CBS News. On January 5, 2024, she was co-piloting a Boeing 737 MAX 9 that had taken off shortly before from Portland, Oregon, bound for California.

“My body was pushed forward and there was also a loud bang,”, she added. “It was incredibly loud.” Captain and co-pilot then focus on an emergency landing.

Along with the pilot, she will receive an award from the Air Line Pilots Association on Thursday for her professionalism.

“My captain is a hero. The same goes for flight attendants,” said Emily Wiprud. The incident, on a brand new plane, exposed quality problems at the aircraft manufacturer.