SEATTLE NEWS ARCHIVES & FEATURES
鈥楨veryone was eerily calm,鈥� recalls passenger aboard ill-fated Alaska Airlines flight
Jan 10, 2024, 7:34 AM | Updated: 8:45 am
Oregon Emergency Landing - (Elizabeth Le via AP)
(Elizabeth Le via AP)
Terror in the skies: A Vancouver, Washington, woman shares the harrowing moments after聽.
Vicki Kreps and her two young grandchildren were among the 171 passengers on board Alaska Air Flight 1282 last Friday when a door plug blew off mid-flight.
She was remarkably calm herself, which she says is her personality. She is a longtime nurse and has always been able to keep her wits about her.
But she never imagined anything like this.
鈥淚t was extremely loud,鈥� said Kreps. 鈥淚t was the loudest experience I鈥檝e ever had, you know, where hearing was a problem.鈥�
That is how Vicki Kreps describes being on Alaska Airlines Flight 1282 as it ascended 16,000 feet when the door plug on the 737 MAX 9 plane blew off.
鈥淭here was a little, what I want to describe was somebody putting on the brakes,鈥� Kreps said. 鈥淭here was a little pitch forward in my seat, and then a big gush of wind that pushed me back against my seat.鈥�
That鈥檚 when the nightmare scenario every passenger fears happened.
鈥淭he oxygen masks came down,鈥� Kreps said. 鈥淎nd the pilot came on and said 鈥榳e鈥檝e experienced decompression of the cabin.鈥欌��
But she was not alone. Seated next to her on Row 19 were her two grandchildren, seven-year-old Brady and five-year-old Brinley.
鈥淏rady said, 鈥楽o, they want us to put these on?鈥欌�� she said. 鈥淎nd I said 鈥榊ep.鈥� So, he grabbed his. He put his own on. I put mine on and I assisted Brinley.鈥�
She says the crew immediately began the descent. The blowout had happened behind her on Row 26. She eventually snapped a photograph of the hole in the fuselage.
But she says everyone near her was 鈥渆erily calm.鈥�
鈥淥ne of the lap infants on the plane was on my row,鈥� Kreps said. 鈥淢om was sort of wrangling with him to keep the mask on, and at some point, I placed my hand on her shoulder and then we talked a little bit just to make sure she didn鈥檛 feel alone traveling with three kids by herself.鈥�
Kreps says once they landed, things felt normal, but their ears were burning because of the blowout and the rapid descent.
As for flying again? She and her grandchildren flew at Alaska鈥檚 expense the next day. After all, she still had to get them home to Southern California.
But she does say she hopes the investigators work to make sure this never happens again.
