Passengers aboard the Alaska Airlines flight that lost its door plug mid-flight recounted harrowing experiences, with one woman sending what she feared could be her final message to her parents.
The incident involved a sudden drop in the aircraft’s altitude, causing panic and oxygen masks to deploy.
Passengers described the terrifying moments, including the sight of a gaping hole in the fuselage. (Trending: Chilling Arrest Footage of Trump Co-Defendant Provides Glimpse Into Jack Smith Probe)
‘I don’t want to die’: Alaska Airlines passenger sent ‘final text’ to parents when door hub blew out at 16,000 feet https://t.co/LyqmxWt0uV pic.twitter.com/JIBaVLfvPF
— New York Post (@nypost) January 8, 2024
“The masks r down. I am so scared right now,” passenger Emma Vu texted.
“Please pray for me. Please i dont want to die,” she said. “I woke up to the plane just falling and I knew it was not just normal turbulence because the masks came down, and that’s when the panic definitely started to set it,” she said of the event.
“You just think it’s never going to happen to you — and then it literally did happen to me. I am so grateful for the two ladies who sat to either side of me,” Vu said.

via TikTok
“They were rubbing my back, giving me comfort. I fell asleep and then we’re probably 20 minutes into the air and I feel the entire plane drop and the masks drop and people are screaming in a moment of vulnerability,” she recalled.
“I was freaking out because my bag wouldn’t inflate and that’s literally what they tell you in the safety thing — like don’t worry you’re still getting airflow, but (during) fight or flight you’re not thinking about that … it was just so scary,” she said.
“The pilot came on and told everyone to put your mask on before you help others, like literally word for word what you hear in the safety briefing. It was just so surreal,” Vu added. “All I got was free snacks and a compensated flight with more legroom,” Vu said.
“I don’t know, I just feel like reimbursed flight with more legroom and free water and snacks is not enough,” she added.
“We declared an emergency,” the pilot said. “We are depressurized. We do need to return back.”
“All of a sudden I heard like a big bang and I didn’t know exactly what was going on, but I look up and the oxygen masks were hanging from the ceiling,” passenger Elizabeth Le said.
“And then I look to my left and there’s this huge chunk, part of the airplane is like missing,” she said.
“I couldn’t really think straight because of how loud the wind was,” Le said. “I just couldn’t believe my eyes. There’s a gaping hole. You could see the city and the stars and everything just outside of the window. It was crazy.”
The airline has offered apologies and compensation to the affected passengers.
The National Transportation Safety Board is investigating the incident, and the airline has restricted the aircraft from lengthy flights over water following prior warning light indications.
“We recognize how extremely distressing this incident must have been and we are grateful to you and our crew for everyone’s calm and patience throughout this experience. We will fully investigate this incident and work with the relevant authorities to understand what happened,” the airline stated.
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