United Airlines Flight from San Francisco Lands Safely in Oregon with External Panel Missing

The airline plans to conduct a "thorough examination of the plane" and perform repairs before it goes back into service

United Airlines has released a statement after one of their aircraft landed in Medford, Oregon, on Friday morning missing a portion of its external paneling.

The plane, which landed without incident, had been traveling from San Francisco International Airport.

"This afternoon, United flight 433 landed safely at its scheduled destination at Rogue Valley International/Medford Airport,” the company said in a statement to PEOPLE, per NBC’s Bay Area.

“After the aircraft was parked at the gate, it was discovered to be missing an external panel. We’ll conduct a thorough examination of the plane and perform all the needed repairs before it returns to service. We’ll also conduct an investigation to better understand how this damage occurred."

The “aircraft did not declare an emergency into Rogue Valley International Medford Airport, as there was no indication of the damage during flight," the airline said.

The Boeing 737-800 had 139 passengers and six crew members on board at the time, the airline added.

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According to the airline, the panel is on the underside of the aircraft, where the wing meets the aircraft body just adjacent to where the landing gear deploys. 

"United Airlines Flight 433 landed safely at Medford Airport in Oregon around 11:30 a.m. local time on Friday, March 15," the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) said in a statement. "A post landing airline inspection revealed a missing panel. The Boeing 737 departed San Francisco International Airport. T -

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he FAA will investigate."

There was nothing in particular that alerted airport staff of the missing part. Airport operations were briefly paused while a search of the runway was conducted, but "no debris on the airfield" was found, Rogue Valley airport director Amber Judd told CBS News Bay Area in a statement.

Earlier this week, United Airlines made headlines after an incident on Monday became the company’s fifth report of a flight issue in just one week.

A rep for the airline told PEOPLE on Tuesday that United Airlines Flight 830, which had been flying to San Francisco from Sydney, had to return to Sydney Kingsford Smith Airport following "a maintenance issue." 

This time, the aircraft was a Boeing 777-300. 

The airline said all 167 passengers and 16 crew members on board landed safely, and that overnight accommodations plus next-day flights were arranged for passengers. 

On March 8, United Airlines Flight 821 had to land in Los Angeles instead of its intended destination of Mexico City due to an "issue with the aircraft's hydraulic system."

This was only hours after another United Airlines flight rolled off the runway at George Bush Intercontinental Airport (IAH) in Houston, prompting another passenger and crew evacuation.

Mike Allard, a passenger on the flight, shared his experience afterward with Houston’s KTRK.

"Seems like we were making a turn. The plane was going a little too fast and just slid off. That's what I took it as. I'm glad everybody's OK. I think the Lord was with us and us," he told the news station. 

The two remaining recent United Airlines incidents include a tire falling off while en route to Osaka, Japan on March 7, and one of United Airlines Flight 1118’s engines catching on fire on March 4.

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