On Friday, March 15, a Boeing 737-800 carrying 139 passengers and 6 crew members landed at the Rogue Valley International Airport in Medford, Oregon, USA at about 11:30 a.m. (local time) even as a panel of the plane went missing. This alarming debacle represents the seventh Boeing-related incident within two weeks. No injuries were reported in this incident.
The latest incident involving a Boeing 787 Dreamliner occurred at Rogue Valley International-Medford Airport in Oregon, USA. United Airlines Flight 433, which departed from San Francisco around 10:08:20 hours, experienced the issue approximately 70 minutes into the flight, prompting a landing in Oregon. Upon landing, it was discovered that a cabin panel was missing, leading to the suspension of airport operations until the runway could be inspected for safety measures.
Social media images revealed that the missing panel was located beside the landing gear, underneath the aircraft. Consequently, all outgoing and incoming flights at the airport were halted to conduct a thorough search for debris. Despite efforts extending beyond the airport vicinity to neighbouring communities, the missing section was not found.
Amber Judd, a senior official at Rogue Valley International Medford Airport, said, “The plane landed safely and the external panel was only discovered missing during a post-flight inspection. We’ll conduct a thorough examination of the plane and perform all the needed repairs before it returns to service. An investigation would be carried out to better understand how this damage occurred. After finding no debris on the airfield, normal operations at MFR resumed a few minutes later.”
In a statement, United Airlines said, “We’ll conduct a thorough examination of the plane and perform all the needed repairs before it returns to service.” Notably, despite the mid-flight disconnection, the flight did not encounter any issues, and there was no need to declare an emergency. As per FAA records, the aircraft was constructed in late 1998.
Boeing aircraft have been facing recurring issues in recent times. Just the day prior, an American Airlines flight was forced to make an emergency landing at Los Angeles International Airport due to a suspected mechanical problem with a Boeing aircraft. Earlier in the week, a United Airlines flight from Sydney to San Francisco had to turn back due to a fuel leak. The Boeing 777-300 landed safely back in Sydney with 167 passengers and 16 crew members on board. Additionally, a Boeing 787 Dreamliner travelling from Sydney to Auckland experienced a technical issue, resulting in injuries to 50 passengers.
