How would triangulation of that small of an item be done?

They drop another door from the same place, this time with an airtag taped to it

Poor people who get a second door in the head.

They'll know from flight data recorder the exact time the decompression occurred. They'll know where and at what altitude the airplane was in the sky at that time and in which direction and speed it was moving. It's nearly a high school physics problem at that point to calculate where the door landed.

Eh, considering wind speed and direction (and its differences at different altitudes), varying pressure and inherent aerodynamic properties of the door plug itself, it's hardly a high school problem. They'll find a decent estimate, but they'll have to search some area unless a person on the ground finds it first.

I agree, it's not a point mass falling in a vacuum. But they'll have a ballpark idea (probably within a few square miles) of where it is.

Apparently there's "radar data" indicating location. <https://www.opb.org/article/2024/01/06/alaska-airlines-737-l...>

They certainly will. A friend and I were speculating whether or not someone will find it and report it before NTSB finds it. I also wondered if it would be in one large piece of several smaller ones. All I can say for sure is that it didn't land on someone's house or car, or we'd have heard by now.

I did find an article saying, "The door that blew off Alaska Airlines Flight 1282 shortly after takeoff from Portland Friday night is believed to be around Barnes Road near Hwy 217 and the Cedar Hills neighborhood" <https://www.koin.com/news/oregon/ntsb-press-briefing-alaska-...>

Edit: and another article saying "radar data" gives them the approximate location. <https://www.opb.org/article/2024/01/06/alaska-airlines-737-l...>