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 bound for Phoenix caused pilots to return to Portland International Airport in Oregon.

The crew of Flight 646 declared a state of emergency yesterday after passengers in the back of the plane reported smelling “some fumes or an odor.”

Seven people, including passengers and crew, requested medical evaluation.

The fire brigade investigated, but could not determine the cause of the odor. No one was taken to hospital and the plane landed safely.

“The guests disembarked and boarded another aircraft to continue their journey 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 Phoenix-bound plane was forced to return to Portland International Airport after passengers in the back of the plane reported smelling “some fumes or an odor.”

The Boeing 737-800 flight left Portland at 5:26 p.m. and reached an altitude of 35,000 feet, according to Flightaware.

It turned 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 involving a Boeing 737 MAX jet criticized the aviation giant for failing to quickly provide key information.

Two months into the investigation into 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 approximately 25 Boeing employees who worked on the component in question, NTSB Chairman Jennifer Homendy told the Senate Commerce Committee.

‘We don’t have the data. We do not have the names of the 25 people responsible for that work in that facility,” Homendy said. “It’s absurd that two months later we still don’t have that.”

The comments drew scathing criticism from lawmakers such as Republican Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas, who called Boeing’s behavior “completely unacceptable.”

There were no serious injuries in the Jan. 5 incident in which the Alaska Airlines flight made an emergency landing after a tire blowout on a panel on the jetliner’s fuselage.

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

NTSB Chairman Jennifer Homendy said investigators have sought the names of the 25 people working on door plugs at a Boeing factory 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 that four bolts securing the panel were missing.

Homendy said the head of the Boeing team working on the door plug was on medical leave.

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

“We have repeatedly requested from Boeing the documentation associated with opening the door plug, closing the door plug or any form of removal if it exists,” Homendy added.

Boeing, which has consistently pledged “transparency” in response to the Jan. 5 incident, said it has “deep respect” for the NTSB as it defended its response.

“Since the first moments after the accident on Alaska Airlines Flight 1282, 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 might 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.

“As for documentation, if the door plug removal was done without documentation, there would be no documentation to share. We will continue to cooperate fully and transparently with the NTSB’s investigation.”