VIDEO: Section of Alaska Airlines aircraft rips off mid-flight

An Alaska Airlines flight made an emergency landing at Portland International Airport (PDX) on Friday night after experiencing a horrifying depressurisation incident, according to passengers.

The Alaska Airlines Flight 1282 with over 170 people onboard made an emergency landing in the US state of Oregon, with passengers reporting a plane window panel blew out after takeoff.

The flight had departed Portland International Airport at around 5:00 pm Friday before returning safely "after the crew reported a pressurization issue," the Federal Aviation Administration wrote on X, formerly Twitter.

Although no injuries or casualties from the incident were reported, the rare occurrence quickly went viral online as passengers shared videos and photos online.

Kyle Rinker, a passenger on the flight, told CNN that a window popped off soon after takeoff.

"It was really abrupt. Just got to altitude, and the window/wall just popped off and didn´t notice it until the oxygen masks came off," he told the broadcaster.

One of the passengers who also posted a picture on X, said that the passengers who were supposed to be seated on the seats next to the door missed their flight. 

The airline grounded its Boeing 737-9 planes on Friday after the faulty aircraft was involved in the incident.

"Following tonight's event on Flight 1282, we have decided to take the precautionary step of temporarily grounding our fleet of 65 Boeing 737-9 aircraft," Alaska Airlines CEO Ben Minicucci said in a statement.

"Each aircraft will be returned to service only after completion of full maintenance and safety inspections," he said, anticipating checks would be finished in a few days.

The plane had been certified airworthy in October, according to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) registry website.

Boeing wrote on X that it was gathering more information and a technical team stood ready to support the investigation.

In his statement, Minicucci said Alaska Airlines was "working with Boeing and regulators to understand what occurred".