Alaska flight turns back after Boeing 737 engine fails mid-air

An Alaska spokesperson told Business Insider that the Boeing 737’s left engine failed shortly after takeoff.

Alaska Airlines Flight 1240 has also returned landed safely at Sea-Tac around 1:30 p.m. local time, according to the FAA, which said it would investigate the incident.

“Credit to the crew for following standard procedures for this situation and landing safely and without incident,” the Alaska spokesman said. “We were working to take care of our guests and accommodate their travel to Oakland yesterday afternoon and apologize for the inconvenience.”

A passenger on board told local news station Kiro 7 that the engine failure was terrifying, but applauded the pilots for handling the situation.

Boeing did not immediately respond to a request for comment from BI.

The incident comes as Boeing faces increasing scrutiny over a spate of mechanical problems.

In January, an Alaska Airlines Boeing 737 Max 9 was forced to make an emergency landing after a door panel detached mid-flight, leaving a gaping hole in the plane thousands of feet in the air.

Aviation regulators have opened investigations into at least six incidents involving Boeing jets, The Washington Post reported in April.

Since the start of the year, the company’s planes have suffered engine failures, lost wheels, a falling engine cover and a mid-air crash.

In May, a Boeing 737-800 the plane lost one of its external panels in flight.

During a Senate hearing in June, Ex Boeing CEO David Calhoun defended the company’s safety record.

Calhoun was replaced by Kelly Ortberg, the former head of avionics company Rockwell Collins, earlier this month.

In another blow, NASA chose SpaceX over Boeing to bring home two astronauts stranded on the International Space Station after weeks of deliberations over safety concerns.

Astronauts were stranded after the Boeing Starliner’s reaction control system thrusters failed during its journey to the ISS in June. The ship’s helium system was also leaking.