The series of failures involving Boeing aircraft continues unabated. A United Airlines plane lost a fuselage cover during flight. The damage to the Boeing 737-800 was only discovered on the ground.
The plane landed smoothly in the city of Medford, Oregon, on Friday evening, United said. The local newspaper ‘Rogue Valley Times’ had previously published an eyewitness photo showing exposed mechanisms.
Investigation announced
The US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) announced that it would investigate the recent incident involving the exterior panels 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 make any necessary repairs before returning it to service.
The missing panel exposed the mechanics:
According to United, the plane took off from San Francisco with 139 passengers and six crew members. Judging from the aircraft number from another eyewitness photo, the aircraft was put into service in 1998.
Aircraft manufacturer in crisis
Boeing is currently in the spotlight after a virtually new 737-9 Max aircraft lost part of its fuselage while climbing after takeoff in early January. According to initial investigations, the American accident investigation authority NTSB believes that four mounting bolts were missing from the torn fuselage fragment. For a 25-year-old aircraft, such as the United aircraft currently affected, maintenance or material fatigue will likely play a greater role than production.
Just over a week ago, a United Airlines Boeing 777 lost a wheel during takeoff from San Francisco. The plane with around 250 people on board, which was actually supposed to fly to Japan, landed in Los Angeles on Thursday (local time) without any problems. United emphasized that passenger planes are designed to land with missing or damaged tires. Problems with tires exposed to extreme loads occur from time to time on aircraft from various manufacturers and airlines.
Source: Krone
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