A United Airlines flight that took off Friday morning from San Francisco International Airport landed in Oregon without an exterior panel, the Federal Aviation Administration said.
The painting was found missing when the plane, a Boeing 737-800, landed safely at its scheduled destination at Medford Rogue Valley International Airport in Oregon and parked at a gate, United Airlines said in a statement. It was unclear when and how the painting was lost.
According to the airline, there was no indication of damage to the plane during the flight and the aircraft did not declare an emergency en route to the Medford airport.
“We will conduct a thorough examination of the plane and make all necessary repairs before it returns to service,” the airline said. “We will also conduct an investigation to better understand how this damage occurred.”
The plane was carrying 139 passengers and a crew of six, according to United Airlines. No injuries were reported.
The plane had been in service for more than 25 years and was from a previous generation of 737s, according to Airfleets.net, a website that tracks aircraft information.
The airport briefly halted runway inspection work and resumed flights after no debris was found at the airport, Amber Judd, Medford’s airport manager, said in an email.
Boeing referred questions about the flight to United Airlines. The FAA said it planned to investigate the incident.
The discovery of the missing panel on Friday comes as Boeing has faced intense scrutiny in recent weeks after a door-size section blew off an Alaska Airlines Boeing 737 Max 9 in January just minutes after takeoff from Portland, Ore. no serious injuries during the flight, but the terrifying episode, which was caught on video, prompted government officials to look into Boeing’s quality control.
After the January flight, the FAA launched a six-week audit of Boeing, which found “multiple instances” in which the plane maker had failed to meet quality control requirements.
Since then, there have been a number of issues with flying Boeing aircraft.
On March 8, a United Airlines flight landing at George W. Bush Intercontinental Airport in Houston rolled onto the grass as the plane, a Boeing 737, exited the taxiway, according to the FAA.
In February, a Madrid-bound American Airlines flight, a Boeing 777, headed into Boston’s Logan International Airport with a cracked windshield shortly after departing from Kennedy International Airport in New York.
