Pilot on Alaska Airlines flight with door plug blowout speaks about incident

For the first time, we heard from one of the pilots of the Boeing airplane that lost a door plug over Portland in January.

She says the Alaska Airlines flight crew initially had no idea what was wrong with the aircraft.

Pilot Emily Wiprud says she heard an explosion and a force of air before needing to focus on getting the plane on the ground.

CBS News Senior Transportation & National Correspondent Kris Van Cleave: “Did you know at this point there was a hole in the airplane?”

Wiprud: “No. I didn’t know that there was a hole in the airplane until we landed.”

The door plug flew off the Boeing plane as it was ascending about 16,000 feet up. Several people were hurt, and the vacuum force even pulled clothes off some passengers.

Everyone survived, but that wasn’t immediately clear to the crew.

Wiprud: “I looked at my flight attendants and I said, ‘Are you OK?’ And in that response, I heard, ‘Hole. Four, five empty seats and injuries.’”

Van Cleave: “And are you thinking when they said empty seats that you’ve lost people?”

Wiprud: “Yes.”

Wiprud told CBS News she was relieved that all the passengers were accounted for. She and her captain will be honored Thursday by the Airline Pilots Association for making a safe landing.

The incident triggered multiple federal investigations, lawsuits and changes within Boeing.

Former CEO, David Calhoun, was forced out amid the safety crisis. His replacement, Kelly Ortberg, took over the company last month.

Boeing and its production plans are under the oversight of an FAA monitor to ensure the company and its workers are adhering to a corrective action plan.

The company has also delayed pushing out more airplanes in the time being.