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The Federal Aviation Administration saying that the plane landed safely and that the missing panel was discovered during “a post-landing airline inspection.” The FAA said it would investigate.
There was no indication of damage during the flight, which landed at its intended destination, and no emergency was declared en route to Medford Airport, according to the airline. There were no reports of injuries.
“We will conduct a thorough examination of the aircraft and make any necessary repairs before it returns to service,” United said in a statement, adding that it would also conduct an investigation “to better understand how this damage occurred.”
Airport Director Amber Judd said in an email that no debris was found at the airfield after the flight landed around noon and that a routine inspection revealed the missing panel. Operations at the airport were halted for a runway safety review and resumed a few minutes later, Judd said.
Boeing referred questions about the flight to United Airlines.
Bad news has plagued Boeing after an explosion on a 737 Max in January, when a door plug fell off during an Alaska Airlines flight, leaving a gaping hole that terrified mid-air passengers and caused an emergency landing. .
The FAA launched an investigation into Boeing manufacturing after the door stopper failure. An agency audit found the company needed to improve in several areas and regulators gave it 90 days to draft a plan to fix any quality control problems.
The aerospace giant said in February that it had “a clear picture of what needs to be done” and is “fully committed to meeting this challenge.”
Recent scrutiny has focused on the 737 Max, a widely used single-aisle airliner. About five years ago, two catastrophic 737 Max aircraft crashes killed 346 people.
The plane with a missing panel in Friday’s incident was an older 737-800, not a 737 Max.
In recent days, Boeing alerted airlines about a possible problem with loose switches in the pilot seats of its 787 Dreamliner planes after one of the planes suddenly fell, injuring 50 people, The Washington Post reported. That flight from Australia continued to New Zealand. The 787, a larger aircraft, is primarily used on long-haul international routes.
Ian Duncan and Lori Aratani contributed to this report.