The Federal Aviation Administration is launching an investigation into how an older-model
plane lost a panel mid-flight Friday.
United Airlines flight 433 took off from San Francisco International Airport at around 10:30 a.m. Friday local time, carrying 139 passengers and six crew members, the airline said. Ground crew discovered the aircraft was missing an external panel after the flight touched down safely at Medford Airport in Oregon roughly an hour after departure.
Aircrew didn’t declare an emergency during the flight, as there was no indication of the damage while the flight was airborne, United said. The airline added that it is conducting a “thorough examination of the plane” and will perform all needed repairs before returning it to service.
“We’ll also conduct an investigation to better understand how this damage occurred,” United said in an emailed statement to…