An exterior panel of a Boeing 737 carrying passengers on a United Airlines flight from San Francisco to Medford appears to have torn off mid-flight Friday, marking the latest in a string of recent high-profile mishaps for Boeing planes.
A photo of the plane shows a hole in the fuselage, exposing what appears to be mechanical components of the aircraft. United said the panel was missing from a spot where one of the wings meets the aircraft’s body, near the landing gear. United did not answer questions about what caused the panel to fall off.
The plane is a Boeing 737-800, according to United, though the FAA lists it as a Boeing 737-824. It is not a Boeing 737 Max 9, which is the model of plane that made an emergency landing in Portland after a door plug flew off of the Alaska Airlines aircraft about six minutes into a Jan. 5 flight.
Friday’s Flight 433 landed shortly before noon as scheduled at Rogue Valley International Medford Airport, said airport Director Amber Judd. United said none of the 139 passengers and six crew members were injured.
It was only after the plane was on the ground that the problem was found, Judd said.
“I don’t think anyone even knew that was an issue until they discovered that during a routine inspection before the next flight,” she said.
The Rogue Valley Times was among the first to report the incident.
United confirmed that the pilots didn’t declare an emergency before landing in Medford because “there was no indication of the damage during the flight.”
Boeing planes have had a rough past couple weeks and months. A succession of problems have been discovered on domestic and international flights, including earlier this month when a United flight from San Francisco to Japan diverted to Los Angeles because a tire that was part of the landing gear fell off the Boeing 777-20 after takeoff.
On March 1, a cargo door also was discovered ajar on a Boeing 737 from Los Cabos, Mexico, to Portland. On March 6, a Boeing 737-800 headed to Phoenix returned to Portland shortly after takeoff when passengers and crew smelled fumes in the cabin.
Boeing didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment about Friday’s flight. United said it’s investigating.
“We’ll conduct a thorough examination of the plane and perform all the needed repairs before it returns to service,” read a United statement. “We’ll also conduct an investigation to better understand how this damage occurred.”
The plane was manufactured 25 years ago, according to the FAA.
Judd, the Medford airport director, said she doesn’t know where the panel flew off. The airport briefly closed while workers inspected the grounds to see if the panel had fallen just before landing. After finding nothing, the airport reopened.
“Luckily everybody landed safely,” Judd said. “And they’ll make sure it’s safe before the aircraft is back in the air.”
– Aimee Green covers breaking news and the justice system. Reach her at 503-294-5119, agreen@oregonian.com or @o_aimee.
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