First officer of Boeing door panel flight says she was ‘stunned’

The first officer of Alaska Airlines Flight 1282, which made an emergency landing in Portland on January 6, said she was “shocked and in disbelief” when the plane landed. Shortly after takeoff, a door panel on the Boeing 737-9 burst in mid-flight.

CBS News conducted an exclusive interview with First Officer Emily Wiprud, in which she spoke publicly about the incident for the first time.

Wiprud said that when the door flew open, “I knew immediately that we had just released the pressure. There was an explosion in my ears and then a rush of air. My body was pushed forward. There was also a loud bang.”

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She struggled to hear as she communicated with air traffic controllers about her urgent need to return to Portland International Airport.

However, Wiprud did not notice the loss of a door panel until the plane landed safely in Portland.

“I opened the cockpit door and saw peace and quiet with hundreds of eyes staring at me,” she said. “I looked at my flight attendants and asked, 'Are you OK?' and in response they said there were four to five empty seats and there were injured people.”

Wiprud initially assumed that the seats were occupied and that some passengers had been sucked out of the plane.

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“I was so grateful,” she said. “I was shocked and couldn't believe everyone was there. Everyone survived.”

Wiprud is already back in office and will be honored with an award from the Air Line Pilots Association on Thursday.

“My captain was a hero,” she said. “My flight attendants are heroes.”

When asked whether she had confidence in the Boeing 737, Mirud answered yes.

Bill Kaczaraba is a content editor at MyNorthwest. You can read his stories here. Follow Bill on X, formerly known as Twitter, Here and send him an email here.