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New testament shows Alaska Air crew feared travelers were lost in mid-air blowout

Alaska Airlines flight attendants feared passengers had actually been drawn out of the airplane in the turmoil following the Jan. 5 midair panel blowout on a Boeing 737 MAX 9 jet, according to harrowing statement released by security experts on Tuesday.

The remarks collected from interviews with attendants - who were not named - were amongst countless pages of evidence made public ahead of a two-day hearing that began earlier on Tuesday by the U.S. National Transport Safety Board about the occurrence. They offer dramatic accounts of the cabin team's. efforts to help guests and interact with pilots when the. panel blew off the jet at 16,000 feet after removing from. Portland, Oregon.

I stated there is a hole in the airplane, in the back of the. aircraft and I'm sure we've lost passengers, said one flight. attendant with about twenty years of experience, after identifying the. hole in the aircraft and 5 empty seats.

The attendant was worried about an unaccompanied kid. toward the aircraft's back. All I might consider was that he was. sitting there and he was too little to reach the mask and was. probably really frightened.

The NTSB is evaluating 737 manufacturing and inspections and. oversight by the Federal Air Travel Administration with an objective of. making recommendations to prevent a repeat in the future. The. event has actually morphed into a full-blown financial and. reputational crisis for maker Boeing.

Flight attendants who were not licensed to speak publicly. immediately after the mishap described a loud bang, whooshing. air and for one, tangled oxygen masks.

I believe I had the ability to (blurt) out, 'I believe we have a hole. and we might've lost travelers.' And then it appeared like I just. lost contact, I tried recalling, attempted speaking loudly into. the phone, I could not hear anything, stated a 2nd flight. attendant, with almost a years of experience.

Probably the scariest thing was I didn't have precise. communication with my flight deck and initially I didn't know if. the decompression remained in the front, if we have pilots, and not. having the ability to totally interact with the back, the flight. attendant said.

The flight attendants both described damage to the airplane and. hurt guests, including one teenager without a shirt on who. had a red face and neck. One chair was entirely stripped of. the leather cover, fabric stuffing, upholstery and head rest. tray table with the force of the decompression.

The second flight attendant said eventually pilots notified. them that they were going to land, so I knew that we were going. to be alright..

(source: Reuters)