Part of the engine cowling was ripped from an Alaska Airlines Boeing 737-900ER during an emergency landing at Seattle International Airport (SEA) on August 22, 2022.
The aircraft, registered as N293AK, was performing flight from Seattle to San Diego when an unusual vibration on the left side of the aircraft soon after take-off was reported, Alaska Airlines confirmed to AeroTime in an emailed statement.
The aircraft returned to SEA airport and performed an emergency landing. However, part of the metal paneling that covered the left engine detached when it landed. Shortly after the incident, video footage and photographs of the Boeing 737 aircraft appeared on social media, revealing detached engine cowling.
Alaska Airlines Boeing 737-900 (N293AK, built 2018) safely returned to land at Seattle-SeaTac Intl AP (KSEA), WA after the cowling of its left engine #1 came loose and ripped off during landing. No one on flight #AS558 to San Diego was harmed. @asminnow pic.twitter.com/gLpjCdXMPG
— JACDEC (@JacdecNew) August 23, 2022
“No one was injured. Guests were rebooked on another flight to San Diego. There were 176 guests and 6 crew members on the flight when the event occurred,” the airline added. “The aircraft is now temporarily out of service while our Safety team investigates.”
The Boeing 737-900ER was delivered to the carrier in September 2018. According to Alaska Airlines, the two pilots who operated the flight have more than 32 years of combined flying experience.