On January 5th, Boeing 737 Max 9  passengers and crew experienced a technical problem in the air.

The pilots heard a huge sound when the plane was at 5000m altitude. At the same time, the emergency door detached and flew out. Instantly, the security masks were released, followed by a cold breeze. Not knowing what was happening, people still attached to their seats started panicking and questioning themselves. By instinct, travellers put on their masks. “We had no idea what had happened. “My head thought maybe this was a joke, but I had the impulse to put my mask on right away and see if a child or anyone else around me needed assistance,” explained Courtney, a passenger who shared her experience on TikTok.

Not knowing what to do, people remained calm, paralyzed by the fear of crashing at any moment. The crew decided to stay quiet by not giving information to the passengers, causing even more questioning and stress. Even if they would have tried, passengers would not have heard because of all the commotion.

People at the back were in the most danger. Luckily, no one was in the two seats near the missing piece. Due to the suction, one of the passengers even got his shirt ripped off him, inflicting minor injuries. No one flew out of the aircraft, thanks to the low altitude. “The chance they got is that the door exploded at a low altitude,” explained Jean Serrat, aeronautical consultant for BFMTV.

It took 20 minutes for the Boeing to land safely and save all 171 passengers and crew members. “For 20 minutes, every second, I thought we were going to crash, like the incidents involving these planes [Boeing 737 Max] a few years ago,” said Courtney. When they touched down, people started applauding, happy to be alive. Every passenger of the Boeing 737 Max 9 was very grateful for the professionalism of the crew members who remained calm.