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Boeing jetliner that suffered blowout was barred from flying over water on long trips. Alaska Airlines restricted long flights over water so plane could return to airport quickly.

Alaska Airlines decided to restrict the aircraft from long flights over water so the plane "could return very quickly to an airport" if the warning light reappeared, National Transportation Safety Board Chair Jennifer Homendy said at a news conference Sunday night.

Homendy cautioned that the pressurization light might be unrelated to Friday's incident in which a plug covering an unused exit door blew off the Boeing 737 Max 9 as it cruised about 16,000 feet over Oregon.

The NTSB said the lost door plug was located Sunday near Portland, Ore., by a school teacher who found it in his backyard, she noted.