A Boeing 737-800 lost an external panel during a flight on Friday. Officials said the latest problem with one of the manufacturer’s planes was first discovered when it landed at an airport in Oregon.
United Airlines Flight 433 departed San Francisco at around 10:20 a.m. local time and landed safely at Rogue Valley International Medford Airport in Oregon about 70 minutes later, airport officials said. flight data.
When the plane arrived at the gate, an exterior panel was found to be missing, and operations at the airport were suspended while a safety inspection of the runway was conducted, Airport Director Amber Judd told the Post in a statement. He spoke at
United Airlines said there were no signs of trouble on the flight, which had 139 passengers and six crew members on board, and no emergency was declared.
Airport staff searched the airport grounds for the missing panel but were unable to find it.
“After no debris was found on the airfield, the MFR resumed normal operations a few minutes later,” she said.
United Airlines said it plans a “thorough inspection” of the 25-year-old plane and will “make all necessary repairs before returning it to service.”
The airline added: “We will also conduct an investigation to better understand how this damage occurred.”
The Federal Aviation Administration also plans to investigate the incident, a spokesperson said.
Boeing declined to comment when contacted by the Post.
The horrific accident is at least the seventh accident involving a Boeing plane in the past two weeks.
On Thursday, an American Airlines jet was forced to make an emergency landing at Los Angeles International Airport on Wednesday night, citing a “possible mechanical issue” with the Boeing plane.
On Monday, a United Airlines flight from Sydney to San Francisco was forced to turn back mid-flight due to a fuel leak. The Boeing 777-300, carrying 167 passengers and 16 crew members, landed safely in Sydney.
Hours earlier, a Boeing 787 Dreamliner en route from Sydney to Auckland, New Zealand, suffered a technical problem that injured 50 passengers.
United Airlines flight from San Francisco to Japan changes destination On March 7, at Los Angeles International Airport, a Boeing 777-20’s tire fell off after takeoff, damaging vehicles in the ground parking lot.
Boeing told employees in a memo Tuesday that it conducts weekly compliance checks of all work areas on its 737 planes and conducts additional equipment audits to reduce quality issues.
