Authorities are investigating Monday's incident, in which Flight 536 lost cabin pressure about 20 minutes after taking off from Seattle-Tacoma International Airport. Passengers heard a loud noise and felt their ears pop as oxygen masks dropped from the ceiling.

The plane returned to the airport and landed safely with a foot-long hole in the fuselage. None of the 140 passengers or five crew members was hurt.

The National Transportation Safety Board said the baggage handler failed to report that equipment struck the plane. A crease in the aluminum opened up as the jet climbed to 26,000 feet.

On Tuesday, Alaska Airlines contacted the Port of Seattle "and asked our police department to take a hit-and-run report," port spokesman Bob Parker said Tuesday evening. "We're coming into this a full 18 hours after the fact. We got involved after Alaska Airlines reported a hit-and-run involving their airplane."

The worker was employed by Menzies Aviation, a British company that Alaska contracts with to provide baggage handling and other ramp services at Sea-Tac, Boren said.

Last May, Alaska Airlines laid off nearly 500 baggage handlers and other ramp workers at Sea-Tac, saying it needed to trim costs amid rising fuel prices and fierce competition from low-cost carriers.

In a statement then, Alaska said hiring Menzies Aviation to provide those ramp services at the airport would save $13 million a year.

Alaska Airlines is the nation's ninth-largest carrier. Together with its sister airline, Horizon Air, it flies to more than 80 cities in the United States, Canada and Mexico.