This is the latest in a slew of incidents that have put Boeing under intense scrutiny.
A United Airlines Boeing 737 was grounded on Friday after it was found to have lost an external panel mid-air without the knowledge of the flight crew, according to the airline.
In a statement to The Epoch Times, United said that despite the missing panel, the Boeing 737-800, which flew out of San Francisco, had landed safely in Jackson County, Oregon.
“This afternoon United flight 433 landed safely at its scheduled destination at Rogue Valley International/Medford Airport (MFR). After the aircraft was parked at the gate, it was discovered to be missing an external panel,” the statement read.
“We’ll conduct a thorough examination of the plane and perform all the needed repairs before it returns to service. We’ll also conduct an investigation to better understand how this damage occurred.”
The airline did not provide details on the cause of the missing panel or any potential implications it may have had during the flight.
It is unclear if any of the 139 passengers and six crew members on Flight 433 were affected by the missing panel.
However, United noted that the aircraft did not declare an emergency before landing, “as there was no indication of the damage during flight.”
Friday’s missing external panel is the latest in a slew of incidents that have put Boeing under intense scrutiny by federal authorities and the aviation industry this year.
Incidents involving Boeing aircraft seem to be increasing in frequency since an Alaska Airlines flight experienced a mid-air blow-out of a door plug at 16,000 feet, forcing an emergency landing of a 737 MAX 9 in January.
Since then, and in the last week alone, two Boeing aircraft operated by United have experienced major incidents.
On March 7, a United Airlines Boeing 777-200ER lost a wheel from the left main landing gear shortly after takeoff from San Francisco International Airport. The flight was headed to Japan but diverted to Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) after the incident.
