FAA Launches Investigation into Missing Panel on United Boeing 737

Another safety incident on a Boeing aircraft has prompted a new federal investigation.

According to reports, the FAA is investigating missing fuselage on a Boeing 737-800 that landed safely on Friday at Oregon’s Rogue Valley International Airport. The missing panel went unnoticed during the flight and was only discovered on landing. None of the 139 passengers and 6 crew members were injured.

The Rogue Valley Times, a newspaper serving Medford, Ore., published a photo of the missing fuselage. 

The incident is yet another in a string of safety incidents involving Boeing aircraft that most notably includes an Alaska Airlines 737 MAX 9 losing a window onboard midflight in January. The FAA said that this most recent incident was not declared an emergency because the damage was not discovered until after landing.

The plane, which had been in operation since 1998 when it entered service as a Continental Airlines aircraft, has been grounded and is not expected to operate anytime soon.

On Monday United Airlines CEO Scott Kirby said that the airline would be doing its own review of all recent safety incidents, which now includes a 737 MAX rolling onto the grass in Houston, and a lost tire after takeoff on a San Francisco to Tokyo flight.