An Alaska spokesperson told Business Insider that the Boeing 737’s left engine failed soon after taking off.

Alaska Airlines Flight 1240 turned around and 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 spokesperson said. “We worked to take care of our guests and accommodate their travel to Oakland yesterday afternoon, and we apologize for the inconvenience.”

A passenger on board told local news outlet 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 mounting scrutiny over a barrage of mechanical issues.

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

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

The outlet reported that the company’s planes have suffered failing engines, lost wheels, a falling engine cover, and a midair nosedive since the start of the year.

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

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

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

In yet another blow, NASA chose SpaceX over Boeing to bring home two astronauts stuck at the International Space Station following weeks of deliberations over safety concerns.

The astronauts became stranded after the Boeing Starliner’s reaction control system thrusters failed during its trip to the ISS in June. The craft’s helium system was also leaking.

A landslide cut a path down a steep, thickly forested hillside and crashed into several homes in Ketchikan, killing one person and injuring three in the latest such disaster to strike mountainous southeast Alaska.

The landslide Sunday afternoon prompted a mandatory evacuation of nearby homes in the city, a popular cruise ship stop along the famed Inside Passage in the Alaska panhandle. The slope remained unstable Monday, and authorities said that state and local geologists were arriving to assess the area for potential further slides.

Last November, six people — including a family of five — were killed when a landslide destroyed two homes in Wrangell, about 100 miles (161 kilometers) to the north. Torrential rains caused a landslide in December 2020 that killed two people in Haines.

“In my 65 years in Ketchikan, I have never seen a slide of this magnitude,” Ketchikan Mayor Dave Kiffer said in a statement. “With the slides we have seen across the region, there is clearly a region-wide issue that we need to try to understand with the support of our State geologist.”

He said the loss of life was “heartbreaking, and my heart goes out to those who lost their homes.”

The landslide followed a weekend bout of rain amid an abnormally dry August, said Andrew Park, a meteorologist in Juneau with the National Weather Service. The weather service early Monday said Ketchikan had received about 2.6 inches (66 millimeters) of rain in about 36 hours, though rainfall totals at higher elevations nearby ranged from 5 to 9 inches (127 to 229 millimeters).

Landslides can be unpredictable, but this one occurred without certain other risk factors, such as high winds, Park said.

“There weren’t any of the big red flags we would normally see,” he said.

Ketchikan is surrounded by the Tongass National Forest, a temperate rainforest that encompasses much of southeast Alaska. Landslides strike often in the region, but garner little notice when they hit remote, unpopulated areas.

But as climate change intensifies storms and destabilizes soil, they are posing more risk to communities.

Because of the steep terrain, there’s limited room for development in the region, and cities and roads are built at the base of slopes. Increasingly, landslides are occurring in inhabited areas of “old infrastructure that’s been built in harm’s way,” said Aaron Jacobs, meteorologist and senior service hydrologist with the National Weather Service’s Juneau office.

“It’s just becoming more and more common that they’re impacting people,” Jacobs said.

Jacobs planned to travel to Ketchikan on Monday to study the soil composition in the area and try to pinpoint why it occurred when the area had been in a period of drought before the weekend’s rainfall.

“We’re going to learn more about this and hopefully we can figure out what caused it and then we can move forward on it,” he said.

Alaska Gov. Mike Dunleavy declared an emergency for Ketchikan, while Kiffer and Ketchikan Gateway Borough Mayor Rodney Dial issued a separate emergency declaration. A shelter was set up at Ketchikan High School.

Two of the victims in Ketchikan were admitted to the hospital and one was treated and released. All other individuals were accounted for, the city and borough said in a joint statement.

It wasn’t immediately clear how many homes were damaged; the state transportation department was sending a drone operator to Ketchikan to help assess the slide.

Michael Robbins, the superintendent of schools in Ketchikan, said in a statement on social media that a dozen people were staying at the shelter at the local high school as of Monday morning.

But people often stay with friends or relatives after such events, so it remained unknown how many were displaced.

Power was restored to some of the area by 8:15 p.m. Sunday. Other areas will remain without power while the landslide is cleared and broken power poles are replaced.

Landslides include debris flows often triggered by heavy rains. When logging or fire destroys trees, the loss of root structure can weaken soil. Rain that isn’t being sucked up by plants can saturate the ground, making it more likely to slide. Other types include creeps, which move slowly downward, and rock falls.

In Alaska, melting permafrost, retreating glaciers, earthquakes and pounding rains can all trigger landslides.

___

Thiessen reported from Anchorage, Alaska. Leah Willingham in Charleston, West Virginia, contributed.

A major landslide in the city of Ketchikan, Alaska, killed one person and injured three on Sunday, with the governor, borough mayor and city mayor have all issued emergency declarations.

The landslide came as a heavy rain front moving across Alaska and there are fears of secondary landslides to follow.

As a disaster was declared, 3rd Avenue, 2nd Avenue, 1st Avenue, and White Cliff Avenue were evacuated.

More From Newsweek Vault: Learn the Fastest Ways to Build an Emergency Fund Today

Homes and infrastructure were damaged by the landslide, the Ketchikan Gateway Borough and City of Ketchikan said in a joint statement Sunday.

Two people were hospitalized, with one was treated and released. All other individuals have been accounted for, the statement said.

A potential secondary landslide area was identified to the south of the original slide location and crews were standing by, according to the Ketchikan Gateway Borough and City of Ketchikan.

More From Newsweek Vault: Compare the Best Banks for Emergency Funds

Mud running under pavements also created some sinkholes around the area.

Power was lost and restored to some affected areas by 8:15 p.m.

Other areas will remain without electricity while the landslide is cleared and broken power poles are replaced, the borough and city said.

More From Newsweek Vault: These 9 Types of Low-Risk Investments Offer Maximum Rates

Governor Mike Dunleavy announced a disaster declaration on Sunday.

“This afternoon I verbally declared a disaster declaration for the landslide that struck Ketchikan earlier today,” the governor said on X, formerly Twitter.

“All state agencies are directed to provide whatever assistance is needed. My thoughts and prayers are with the residents of Ketchikan tonight.”

Borough Mayor Rodney Dial and city Mayor Dave Kiffer issued a separate emergency declaration.

“Friends, is with a heavy heart we relay that a landslide in the city has taken a life, caused several injuries, damaged homes and impacted our community,” Dial said in the statement.

Kiffer said the loss of life was “heartbreaking, and my heart goes out to those who lost their homes.”

“In my 65 years in Ketchikan, I have never seen a slide of this magnitude. With the slides we have seen across the region, there is clearly a region-wide issue that we need to try to understand with the support of our state geologist,” Kiffer said.

A Department of Homeland Security and Emergency Management Response specialist and a federal Department of Transportation personnel are expected to travel to Ketchikan on Monday, Dunleavy said.

“I have directed state agencies to make available all resources and staff for the response effort,” Dunleavy said, noting that the city was receiving assistance from the State Emergency Operations Center.

Ketchikan High School has been set up as emergency shelter with supplies, bedding, food, and other necessities, while schools will be closed on Monday.

According to the National Weather Service, there is expected to be more heavy rain toward the middle of the week.

“The entirety of the panhandle can expect to see rain on Wednesday, continuing into Thursday.”

Ketchikan is Alaska’s furthest south large community, with a population of about 8,000.

Last week, foods in the indigenous Yup’ik village of Napakiak saw water levels rise over 3 feet, trapping numerous people in their homes, despite them being in elevated structures.

Elsewhere in Alaska, a home fell into floodwater caused by a glacier lake outburst.