SEATTLE (AP) — An Alaska Airlines flight bound for San Diego returned to Sea-Tac International Airport shortly after it left Monday after reports of an “unusual vibration,” the airline said.
Part of the cowling, the metal paneling covering the engine, detached from the plane upon landing, according to a statement from Alaska Airlines. The crew aboard the Boeing 737-900ER reported an unusual vibration on the left side of the plane during departure, the statement said.
"The person in front of me turned and pointed at the wing. That's when I looked and I go, 'Oh my word, I'm going to snap a photo of that,' because you just never see anything like that on a flight," said Jacquelin Stonas, who was on the flight.
Stonas said, at first, nothing seemed wrong but she did notice something several minutes after take-off.
"I looked out the window again and realized we're just flying really, really slow and we were still very, very low," she said.
She said she sensed there was a problem after she saw people sitting near the wing of the plane press a button to notify the flight attendant.
"The captain came on very shortly thereafter and just said we've identified in the cockpit a vibration that we don't know where it's from," Stonas said.
Despite the announcement, Stonas said no one panicked.
"I think you don't often hear about the good stories. You hear about the crashes and again kudos to Alaska for having did their announcing. You just felt you were hands of professionals," Stonas said.
The plane is no longer in service as the airline’s safety team investigates the cause, the Seattle Times reported.
The two pilots on the flight have over 32 years of combined flying experience, the airline said.
There were 176 passengers and six crew members on the flight, according to the statement. No injuries were reported.
Guests were rebooked on another flight bound for San Diego, the company said.
The pilots and flight attendants handled the incident with “tremendous professionalism and care,” the airline said in the statement. “We also greatly appreciated the patience of our guests during this event.”
