Alaska Airlines Boeing jet experiences flooding, turns around during flight from Hawaii to Anchorage

An Alaska Airlines flight from Honolulu to Anchorage had to turn around after a malfunctioning bathroom sink flooded the cabin of the Boeing 737 Max 9 jet, according to reports. 

The flight took off at 10:16 p.m. Friday, according to FlightAware. When the water began leaking about 90 minutes into the flight, the captain of Alaska Airlines flight 828 decided to turn around, according to the DailyMail. The plane landed back at Daniel K. Inouye International Airport two hours and 18 minutes after initial takeoff. 

“There was probably two to four inches of standing water that swooshed out as soon as you opened that front door of the lavatory,” flight passenger Dustin Parker told KTUU-TV. I would say an hour and a half into the flight is when we noticed the water and it was significant. The entire floorboards of that airplane [were] completely wet.”

Video shared by Parker shows a flight attendant throwing paper towels on the plane’s floor in an attempt to mop up the water. The center aisle can be seen glistening from what appears to be the front of the plane all the way to the back. Eventually, the paper towels are swapped out with what looks like blue blankets. 

AMERICAN AIRLINES PLANE TURNS BACK AROUND TO AIRPORT MID-FLIGHT DUE TO CARGO DOOR CONCERN

An Alaska Airlines statement to FOX Business reads, “We apologize to our guests for the inconvenience this caused and commend the crew for their actions to ensure the well-being and comfort of our guests.”

Flights from Honolulu to Anchorage are usually about six hours in length, according to FlightAware. The flight had to be canceled due to lack of aircraft for a swap, but impacted passengers were “reaccommodated on alternative flights,” the airline said.  

Both Alaska Airlines and Boeing have been in the headlines following a midair blowout during a January flight. Alaska Airlines flight 1282 made an emergency landing Jan. 5, shortly after taking off from Oregon’s Portland International Airport, when a door plug blew off the jetliner as it was ascending for a trip to California.  

No injuries were reported on the plane, which was carrying 171 passengers and six crew members at the time.

FLAMES SEEN SHOOTING FROM ENGINE OF UNITED AIRLINES FLIGHT BEFORE EMERGENCY LANDING

The blowout prompted the FAA to ground similar Boeing 737 Max 9 jetliners for inspections. The grounding resulted in thousands of flight cancellations.

Last month, passengers who had been on the Alaska Airlines flight with the door plug blowout midair received a letter from the FBI that they may be a “possible victim of a crime.”

FOX Business’ Stepheny Price, Haley Chi-Sing and Daniella Genovese contributed to this report.