Los Angeles, 6 January 2024 (tca/dpa/MIA) — An Alaska Airlines flight bound for the US state of California was forced to turn around and make an emergency landing after a hole opened in the side of the plane shortly after taking off Friday night.

Flight 1282 left Portland International Airport in Oregon and headed toward Ontario, with 171 passengers and six crew members on board, according to the airline.

While the plane was gaining altitude, a window and part of the plane's wall blew out, according to social media reports. Alaska Airlines described the event as "an incident" and said the plane turned around and safely landed back in Portland.

"The safety of our guests and employees is always our primary priority, so while this type of occurrence is rare, our flight crew was trained and prepared to safely manage the situation," Alaska Airlines said in a statement Friday night. "We are investigating what happened and will share more information as it becomes available."

The National Transportation Safety Board is investigating the incident.