Laser1987
The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) will investigate how a United Airlines (NASDAQ:UAL) Boeing (NYSE:BA) 737-800 aircraft lost an external panel before landing safely in Oregon on Friday.
United Airlines flight 433 – a Boeing 737-800 carrying 139 passengers and six crew – landed safely on Friday at its scheduled destination at Rogue Valley International Medford Airport in Oregon after departing from San Francisco, the FAA and the airline said.
The FAA said that an inspection after landing revealed a missing panel, and that it will investigate the incident.
“After the aircraft was parked at the gate, it was discovered to be missing an external panel,” United Airlines (UAL) told Seeking Alpha in an emailed statement, adding that the aircraft had not called in an emergency to Medford Airport “as there was no indication of the damage during flight.”
“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,” United Airlines (UAL) added.
Boeing (BA) did not comment, directing questions to United Airlines (UAL) “for information about their fleet and operations.” According to data from Aviation Flights group, the plane was 25 years and three months old, having been built in December 1998.
Boeing (BA) has been under the spotlight amid a continued fallout from an accident involving a blown door plug on an Alaska Airlines (ALK) flight in early January. Since that event, the top planemaker’s shares have taken a hammering, while subsequent aviation incidents have come under close scrutiny.
