On Friday (15 March), a Boeing 737-800 aeroplane operated by United Airlines was found with a missing external panel after landing in Oregon.
No injuries were reported during the flight. There were also no emergencies declared and no indication of any issues.
The US’ Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is investigating the incident.
According to flight tracker FlightAware.com, flight UAL433 departed San Francisco at 10.20am local time and arrived at Medford, Oregan at 11.36am.
The journey took one hour and 16 minutes as a result of the plane landing 17 minutes ahead of schedule.
During a post-landing airline inspection, inspectors found that the aeroplane, which was 25 years old, was missing an external panel.
Source: Rogue Valley Times
According to CNN, the missing panel is located on the bottom side of the fuselage, below the wing, and behind the main landing gear.
Its subsequent flight to Denver was delayed due to the incident, reported NBC News.
Medford airport personnel subsequently conducted a search for the missing panel but proved unsuccessful.
United Airlines said in a statement that it is planning an investigation into the incident.
“We’ll conduct a thorough examination of the plane and perform all the needed repairs before it returns to service,” the airline said.
Back in January, a door plug detached itself from a Boeing 737 Max 9 aircraft operated by Alaskan Airlines.
No serious injuries occurred, although federal officials said the cabin experienced rapid decompression which sucked debris out.
A preliminary finding found that the door plug lacked necessary retaining bolts, NBC News reports
Last week, a United Airlines-operated Boeing 737 Max rolled off the runway in Houston.
Source: CNBC News
In the same week, a United Airlines-operated Boeing 777-200 bound for Japan lost a tyre after taking off from San Francisco.
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Featured image adapted from Rogue Valley Times and United on Facebook. Picture on the right is for illustration purposes.
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