By CLAIRE RUSH and LISA BAUMANN (Associated Press)
PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — Officials in southern Oregon discovered a missing panel on an older Boeing 737-800 after it arrived from San Francisco on Friday, the latest in a series of incidents involving this type of aircraft.
United Flight 433 departed San Francisco at 10:20 a.m. and landed at Rogue Valley International-Medford Airport in Medford before noon. The plane landed safely, and the missing panel was identified during a post-flight inspection. No injuries were reported.
The airport checked for debris on the runway and airfield but found none.
Airport director Amber Judd indicated that the missing panel was noticed by the United ground crew or pilots conducting a routine inspection for the next flight.
A United Airlines spokesperson stated that the flight, carrying 139 passengers and six crew members, did not declare an emergency due to no indication of damage during the flight.
“After the aircraft was parked at the gate, it was discovered to be missing an external panel,” the United spokesperson said. “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 Federal Aviation Administration also said it would investigate.
The missing panel was located on the underside of the aircraft where the wing meets the body, next to the landing gear, according to United.
The plane, part of the 737-800 series, had its first flight in April 1998 and was operated by Continental Airlines from December that year. United Airlines has been operating it since November 30, 2011.
Boeing deferred comment to United regarding the carrier’s fleet and operations.
In January, a panel that plugged a space left for an extra emergency door blew off a Boeing Max 9 jet shortly after an Alaska Airlines flight took off from Portland. There were no serious injuries, but debris was found in the backyard of a high school physics teacher in southwest Portland, resulting in a criminal investigation by the Department of Justice.
On March 6, fumes detected in the cabin of a Boeing 737-800 Alaska Airlines flight to Phoenix caused the pilots to return to Portland airport.
The Port of Portland reported that passengers and crew noticed the fumes and that the flight landed safely. Seven people, including passengers and crew, requested medical evaluations, with none requiring hospitalization.
Baumann reported from Bellingham, Washington.
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PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — Officials at the airport in southern Oregon found that a United Airlines flight had a missing panel after it arrived at Rogue Valley International-Medford Airport on Friday. The Boeing 737-800, United Flight 433, left San Francisco at 10:20 a.m. and landed in Medford shortly before noon, according to FlightAware. […]
