PORTLAND, OR -- An Alaska Airlines flight was forced to make an emergency landing in Portland, shortly after take-off Friday, when a piece of the aircraft blew out and left a gaping hole in the plane. 

NTSB Chair Jennifer Homendy called the crew’s actions heroic. She described the effort of one flight attendant after the incident, "The cockpit door flew open, hit the lavatory door. That door - the lavatory door got stuck. She was very concerned that somebody was in there." She says it took three tries to get the cockpit door closed again, due to the explosive depressurization. The bathroom was empty.

No one was seriously hurt in the incident. Homendy says the outcome would have been much worse had the door plug blown after the plane reached cruising altitude.

Boeing 737 Max-9 planes are temporarily grounded, "I am very encouraged, again, that the FAA took action to temporarily ground this particular aircraft for inspection," said Homendy. The Cockpit Voice Recorder was not retrieved fast enough and was over-written, so there is no recording of the incident, "That is unfortunately a loss for us. And a loss for FAA and a loss for safety," Homendy said Sunday, "Because that information is key, not just for our investigation but for improving aviation safety." She called on the FAA to require airlines to extend the length of flight recordings before they're recorded over. 

People on the ground recovered two cell phones believed to have fallen out of the plane when the gaping hole opened up. Late Sunday, Homendy announced the door plug was found, "It is yellowish green on one side and can blend in with vegetation. And it’s white on the other side. It is 26x48 inches and weighs 63 pounds." A school teacher, identified only as "Bob," found the section in his backyard. 

Image courtesy NTSB: Investigator-in-Charge John Lovell examines the fuselage plug area of Alaska Airlines Flight 1282 Boeing 737-9 MAX.