A United Airlines passenger plane lost a cover on its fuselage in flight. The damage to the Boeing 737-800 was only discovered on the ground after the plane landed without problems in the city of Medford in the state of Oregon on Friday (local time), United said. The local newspaper “Rogue Valley Times” had previously published an eyewitness photo showing exposed mechanics.
The US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) announced that it is investigating the recent incident involving the exterior paneling of the Boeing 737-800. When the aircraft was inspected after landing, a missing part was discovered. The airline said it would thoroughly inspect the aircraft and carry out any necessary repairs before returning it to service.
According to United, the plane took off from San Francisco with 139 passengers and six crew members. Judging by the onboard number from another eyewitness photo, the aircraft was put into service in 1998.
Lost fuselage part during climb
Boeing is currently increasingly in the spotlight after a virtually new 737-9 Max aircraft lost a part of its fuselage while climbing after take-off at the beginning of January. According to initial investigations, the US accident investigation authority NTSB assumes that four fastening bolts were missing from the torn out fuselage fragment. However, for a 25-year-old aircraft like the United aircraft currently affected, maintenance or material fatigue are likely to play a larger role than production.
Over a week ago, a United Airlines Boeing 777 lost a wheel while taking off from San Francisco. The plane with around 250 people on board, which was actually supposed to fly to Japan, landed in Los Angeles a little later on Thursday (local time) without any problems. United stressed that passenger planes are designed to land with missing or damaged tires. Problems with tires that are exposed to extreme loads occur from time to time on aircraft from various manufacturers and airlines.