A United Airlines Boeing plane lands without an exterior panel

An exterior panel missing from a Boeing United Airlines flight has been found after landing in southern Oregon on Friday.

United Flight 433, which left San Francisco at 10:20 a.m., landed in Medford, Oregon, just before noon. An exterior panel was determined to be missing from the underside of the Boeing 737-800 after it was parked at the gate at Rogue Valley International-Medford Airport, according to United Airlines.

The plane, which was carrying 139 passengers and six crew members, did not declare a state of emergency, as there was no indication of damage during the flight.

The company said in a statement provided to The Hill that it would conduct an investigation into the incident.

“We will conduct a comprehensive inspection of the plane and make all necessary repairs before it returns to service,” he added. “We will also conduct an investigation to better understand how this damage occurred,” United said.

Airport Director Amber Goode said no debris was found after the plane landed.

“Normal operations at MFR resumed a few minutes later,” Judd told The Hill.

Boeing referred The Hill to United Airlines for information about its fleet and operations when contacted for comment.

The accident occurred two months after a Boeing 737 Max, operated by Alaska Airlines, lost a door panel mid-flight. The Ministry of Justice has since opened a criminal investigation into the January 5 incident.