A United Airlines plane was grounded on Friday in Medford, Oregon, after it was found to be missing an external panel (Picture: Jackson County Airport Authority)
A United Airlines flight lost an external panel mid-flight in the latest safety incident to plague Boeing.
The Boeing 737-800 plane departed from San Francisco International Airport on Friday morning with 139 passengers. It was not until the aircraft landed safely in Mogue Valley International/Medford Airport in Oregon around 10.20am, that United discovered the missing part, KGO reported.
Pilots were unaware that anything had happened during the flight.
The part that ripped off was the wing to body fairing underneath the aircraft where the wing and body meet, according to United.
United stated it will ‘thoroughly examine the plane and perform repairs and conduct an investigation to know how the damage occurred’.
No one was injured, said Jackson County Airport Director Amber Judd. She added that it was not a new plane.
‘It was not a MAX aircraft,’ said Judd.
The mishap comes as Boeing faces several lawsuits for other safety incidents on recent flights. Most alarmingly, an Alaska Airlines Boeing 737-MAX 9 door plug fell out mid-flight in January.
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