Alaska Airlines flight is forced to return to Portland after passengers and crew fall ill from ‘fumes’ in the cabin

Fumes detected in the cabin of an Alaska Airlines flight destined for Phoenix caused pilots to head back to Portland International Airport in Oregon. 

The crew of Flight 646 declared an emergency yesterday after passengers in the rear of the plane reported smelling ‘some fumes or an odor’. 

Seven people including passengers and crew requested medical evaluations. 

Fire crews investigated but couldn’t determine the cause of the smell. No-one was taken to the hospital and the plane landed safely.

‘Guests deplaned and boarded a different aircraft to continue on their way to Phoenix,’ the airline said. 

‘The aircraft in question is being inspected by our maintenance team. We apologize to our guests for the inconvenience.’

The plane destined for Phoenix was forced to head back to Portland International Airport after passengers in the rear of the plane reported smelling ‘some fumes or an odor’

The Boeing 737-800 flight left Portland at 5.26 p.m., reaching an altitude of 35,000 feet, according to Flightaware. 

It turned around southwest of Burns, Oregon, and landed back in Portland at 6.33 p.m. 

It came as the head of the federal investigation into a troubled January flight on a Boeing 737 MAX jet blasted the aviation giant for not providing key information quickly.

Two months into the probe of the January 5 Alaska Airlines flight, the National Transportation Safety Board still has not received key documents at the center of the investigation, or the names of some 25 Boeing employees who worked on the part in question, NTSB Chair Jennifer Homendy told the Senate Commerce Committee.

‘We don’t have the records. We don’t have the names of the 25 people in charge of doing that work in that facility,’ Homendy said. ‘It’s absurd that two months later we don’t have that.’

The remarks drew scathing criticism from lawmakers such as Texas Republican Senator Ted Cruz, who called Boeing’s conduct ‘utterly unacceptable’. 

There were no serious injuries in the January 5 incident in which the Alaska Airlines flight made an emergency landing after suffering a blowout on a panel on the jet fuselage.

The fuselage was built by Boeing contractor Spirit AeroSystems, but the problem is believed to stem from maintenance on the part performed at Boeing’s Renton, Washington factory in which the door plug is believed to have been removed and reinstalled.

NTSB Chair Jennifer Homendy said investigators have sought the names of the 25 people who work on door plugs at a Boeing facility in Renton, Washington, but have not received them

Bolts appear to be missing from the door plug that blew out of a Boeing 737 MAX during an Alaska Airlines flight on January 5

The NTSB has previously said four bolts securing the panel were missing.

Homendy said the head of the Boeing team working on the door plug has been out on medical leave. 

She said the agency has made no progress with requests to Boeing for the additional 25 employees in the team. 

‘We’ve repeatedly requested from Boeing the documentation that went along with the work of opening the door plug closing the door plug or any sort of removal if that exists,’ Homendy added.

Boeing, which has consistently pledged ‘transparency’ in response to the January 5 incident, said it has ‘deep respect’ for the NTSB as it defended its responsiveness.

‘Since the first moments following the Alaska Airlines Flight 1282 accident, we have worked proactively and transparently to fully support the NTSB’s investigation,’ a Boeing statement said.

‘Early in the investigation, we provided the NTSB with names of Boeing employees, including door specialists, who we believed would have relevant information,’ the company said.

‘We have now provided the full list of individuals on the 737 door team, in response to a recent request.

‘With respect to documentation, if the door plug removal was undocumented there would be no documentation to share. We will continue to cooperate fully and transparently with the NTSB’s investigation.’