A terrifying scene unfolded on an Alaska Airlines flight headed from Portland, Oregon to Ontario, California on Friday night when a gaping hole suddenly opened up in the fuselage, according to passengers

Flight 1282 had departed PDX around 5 p.m. and was in the air for about 20 minutes when passengers reported hearing a “loud boom.”

“The oxygen masks dropped down, and I look to my left to hear and see wind blasting, with a piece of the wall gone,” Elizabeth Le told KTLA. “There was no one in the window seat but a mom and her teenage son sitting [on] the aisle.”

Le said the mother apparently saved her son from getting pulled out of the plane.

“I looked up and saw that the son’s shirt was completely off and his skin was very red, most likely due to the cold air. I heard after from the son’s friend that the mom had to drag him back into the plane after the piece flew off.”

The pilot immediately turned around and returned to Portland, the airline said.

“The aircraft landed safely back at Portland International Airport with 171 guests and 6 crew members. We are investigating what happened and will share more as it becomes available,” Alaska Airlines tweeted.

This is a developing story. Stay with KTLA for updates.

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