US probes Boeing 737 flight found with lost external panel after landing

Boeing faces more turbulence even though flight landed safely as it was unclear when or how the panel went missing.

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is investigating how a United Airlines Boeing 737-800 lost an external panel before landing safely in the US state of Oregon, the latest in a series of recent incidents involving aircraft manufactured by the company.

Flight 433 from San Francisco landed safely at the Rogue Valley International Medford Airport in Oregon at about 20:45 GMT on Friday, but a post-flight inspection revealed a missing panel, the FAA said.

Medford airport paused operations to check the runway and airfield for debris but none was found, according to the facility’s director, Amber Judd.

The missing panel was on the underside of the plane, where the wing meets the body and just next to the landing gear, United said.

There were 139 passengers and six crew members on board the 25-year-old aircraft. No injuries were reported.