- The Boeing 737-824 landed at Medford Airport despite the missing part
- No injuries were reported, said Amber Judd, director of the Jackson County Airport
- She reiterated that the plane was not a new aircraft, contrary to recent incidents
A Boeing-built United Airlines plane was grounded Friday after it was found to be missing a panel after landing after a flight.
The aircraft is a Boeing 737-824 and despite the missing part it landed successfully at Medford Airport in Oregon.
No injuries were reported, Jackson County Airport Director Amber Judd said, adding that the flight originated from San Francisco.
She reiterated that the plane was not a new aircraft, contrary to the series of incidents in recent months. An Alaska Airlines Boeing 737-MAX 9 lost a door mid-flight in January.
The incident – only the latest from the embattled manufacturer – took place on Monday and is the sixth incident involving a Boeing aircraft in ten days. Judd further clarified that the part failed mid-flight as the FBI continues to investigate Boeing’s manufacturing practices.
A Boeing-built United Airlines plane was grounded Friday after it was found to be missing a panel after landing after a flight. In the photo: the missing part of the 25-year-old Boeing 737-824
Jackson County Airport Director Amber Judd reiterated that the plane was not a new aircraft, contrary to the series of incidents in recent months. An Alaska Airlines Boeing 737-MAX 9 lost a door mid-flight, and several incidents involving Boeing aircraft have occurred since then
“It wasn’t a MAX plane,” Judd said after Friday’s scare.
United Airlines, meanwhile, issued a statement confirming that the 139 passengers and six crew members who had been on board were all safe.
It read: “This afternoon, United Flight 433 landed safely at its planned destination at Rogue Valley International/Medford Airport.
‘After the aircraft was parked at the gate, an external panel appeared to be missing.
“We will thoroughly examine the aircraft and make all necessary repairs before returning it to service.
‘We will also conduct research to better understand how this damage occurred.’
The incident comes just three days after another incident in which a Boeing plane had to land because hydraulic fluid was leaking from the landing gear. It was also a United Flight.
It is also being investigated that the emergency landing occurred when the 777-300 bound for San Francisco took off from Sydney, with film material leaking from the undercarriage.
It also comes less than a week after a former Boeing executive was found dead of an apparent suicide while giving depositions for a lawsuit he filed against Friday claiming he witnessed the installation of second-rate parts on planes.
The incident comes just three days after another incident in which a Boeing plane had to land because hydraulic fluid was leaking from the landing gear. Now under investigation, the technical glitch also occurred in the air of a United flight
Meanwhile, ex-Boeing quality manager John Barnett, who was in the middle of a whistleblower retaliation lawsuit against the manufacturer, was found dead of what police said was a self-inflicted gunshot wound on Saturday while meeting with Boeing lawyers in South Carolina.
A file photo shows Boeing employees walking the company’s new flagship 787-10 Dreamliner to the delivery pad at the company’s South Carolina factory
Following the recent incident on Monday – and just an hour before that, 50 passengers were injured on the company’s flagship 787 Dreamliner – Boeing lost more than $4 billion overnight, after shares fell more than 4 percent were down.
The FAA has since revealed that the company failed 33 of 89 audits during an investigation of Boeing’s 737 Max – a model it planned to update with the long-delayed Max 10.
After Monday’s incident – and several that came before it – United Airlines asked the company to halt work on the unreleased planes, a clear sign of declining airline confidence.
More to follow…