Enlarge image

Investigation of the accident machine in Portland, Oregon:

Photo: Ntsb / EPA

On January 5, 171 passengers on Alaska Airlines Flight 1282 experienced a nightmare: In the middle of the climb, a door-sized panel came off one side of the Boeing 737-9 Max.

Despite the gaping hole in the plane's wall, the pilots managed to return the plane to Portland International Airport and land safely.

There were no fatalities or serious injuries among the passengers and crew.

One of the reasons for this was that there was no one sitting right next to the hole in row 26.

Passenger Cuong Tran from California was in the row of seats behind - and he has now described his impressions of the accident to the BBC for the first time.

Accordingly, the seat belt saved his life: Tran remained seated while his shoes, socks and cell phone were swept away by the massive suction caused by the uncontrolled loss of pressure in the cabin.

“The captain said we had exceeded 10,000 feet (altitude).

Then the hole opened and I remember my body being lifted into the air.

Then my lower body was sucked back down by the howling wind.”

The decompression took 10 to 20 seconds, said the 40-year-old.

Meanwhile, he looked around at the other passengers, who couldn't believe what they were seeing.

»It was the first time in my life that I felt like I had no control over anything.

“I was stunned the whole time,” Tran said.

»This feeling of loss of control is quite frightening.

The pull was so strong, my life was hanging by a thread.«

The rescue flight to Portland is said to have taken around 30 minutes - for Tran it felt like an endless journey.

"I didn't have a cell phone and had no idea how much time had passed, so I just sat there staring into the hole and hoping it wouldn't tear any further."

That was the worst moment – ​​the waiting.

According to the BBC, the passenger suffered multiple injuries, including a laceration to his leg.

»My body is slowly recovering, but I have a large scar on my leg.

“I don’t know if it’ll ever go away,” Tran said.

At the time of the accident, the plane was around 16,000 feet, almost 5,000 meters, above the city of Portland in the US state of Oregon.

Cuong Tran is one of seven passengers who have sued aircraft manufacturer Boeing, Alaska Airlines and fuselage manufacturer Spirit AeroSystems.

The accusation: They not only suffered injuries as a result of the incident, but also experienced "severe emotional stress, fear and anxiety."

Tran was "almost sucked out of the plane," lawyer Timothy A. Loranger told the BBC.

"This is terrifying."

A specific amount of damages was not mentioned in the lawsuit.

The defendants have not yet commented on the proceedings.

A preliminary investigation by the US aviation authority showed that four basic screws that were supposed to hold the so-called door stopper were missing.

Another group of affected passengers has sued Boeing and Alaska Airlines for $1 billion for negligence.

Shortly after the accident, those affected reported in the Washington Post about the mood on board.

Some passengers held hands or hugged each other.

Others sent text messages to their loved ones at home.

ala