An external panel detached on a United Airlines-operated Boeing 737-800 aircraft, leaving a visible gap in the fuselage. What caused this to happen and how did it go unnoticed until it was later discovered on the ground?
External Panel Comes Lose From United Airlines 738-800, Likely In-Flight
On Friday, March 15, 2024, a United 737-800, registration number N26226, took off from San Francisco (SFO) bound for Medford, Oregon (MFR). The aircraft was over 25 years old. UA433 landed without incident in Medford: no emergency was declared (contrary to some early reports) and none of the 139 passengers or six crewmembers were thought ever to be in danger.
But on the ground in Oregon a very visible missing external panel was discovered:
Quite a sight as United #433 lands at Medford Airport this afternoon after panel apparently lost in-flight from San Francisco. No injuries, all safe, per updates coming in from our reporters. Plane is a 25-year-old Boeing 737-824 More coming soon from@RogueValTimes
newsroom. pic.twitter.com/IlN7c1d5mF— David Sommers (@david_sommers) March 15, 2024
I am going to assume that the panel detached in the air between San Francisco and Medford because it would be a far bigger problem if a pilot missed this during a pre-flight walk around the aircraft in SFO. I’m confident that this would have been caught prior to takeoff, as it was in MFR (the onward flight to Denver was canceled).
That said, the question remains: what caused this external panel to detach in the first place? Impact? Missing screws? Wear and tear? Something else?
United has said:
“This afternoon, United Flight 433 landed safely at its scheduled destination at Rogue Valley International/Medford Airport. 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.”
Whatever the cause, the incident marks another unfortunate incident for United Airlines. It has been a busy week for the carrier:
- United 737 MAX 8 Veers Off Runway In Houston
- Wheel Falls Off United Airlines 777-200 During SFO Takeoff, Smashes Cars
- Another United Airlines Mechanical Incident, This Time A Boeing 777-300ER Diversion In Australia
Three points. First, every little incident has now become magnified due to heightened tensions and our social media world. That’s somewhat regrettable, but can be a tool of accountability. Second, this incident does not make me think twice about the safety of flying. But third, I do think this string of incidents does not necessarily reflect well on United. Here, it does not seem that Boeing is to blame (the world is full of older 737-800 jets that do not experience this) as much as United. It’s reasonable by now to ask if any maintenance shortcuts led to this incident.
CONCLUSION
Incidents like this will occur… they always have and likely always will. That doesn’t make it okay, nor does it make it reasonable to conclude flying on United or Boeing is suddenly unsafe. Even with media sensationalism, the incidents we have witnessed the last week strike me as a bit too much…it is time to start double-checking and triple-checking work.
image: @David_somers / X
Three letters… DEI – nothing will change, the unions are complicit, they need those payroll deductions to continue funding thier war on America.
Or perhaps unskilled, unqualified MAGA morons in maintenance? That could be it too, you know. After all, America’s best days are long behind it.
I knew an angry vegetable would come here with the latest catchphrase. So programmable, your handlers simply download the software and off you go spreading it ad nauseum like a computer virus.
This is a 25 year old plane. So which part of the system over the last two decades did DEI strike here? Let’s be specific! Who, where, and when? Since you apparently know.
Hahaha yes 😀
What war on America?
The article makes it sound as if these mishaps are normal practice. What an aviation authoritative wannabe brain-damage article.
The panel fell off while in flight. Was the panel found on the ground? If so where. The panel could have hit a plane flying somewhere underneath and endanger anyone underneath. There should be a 5% paycut for anyone missing a maintenance issue that didn’t get fixed. .
It is looking more and more as though UA has some issues of its own, when it comes to maintenance.
@lavanderialarry … Does UA have an in-house maintenance dept ., or does UA out-source maintenance to a third world country ?
Big base in SFO/Bay Area, which I guess you can equate to a third world shithole.
It only is when you guys are visiting.
Typo (If you care for it): The “extenal” should have read “external” in the title 🙂
Jiminy, this is getting worse. Thank you.
No worries, Matthew, it’s not. It’s business as usual 😀
LOL!
@Matthew, while United did “lose,” the external panel came “loose” in your sub-heading. Also, in the Delta smoking post, you mistyped “dor” instead of “door” at the end of the post (3rd paragraph up).
I know you said you ditched Grammarly a while ago, but I noticed that their free extension now requires an account to see corrections. When you do find a good grammar checker, please post about it. I’d like to know what to use, too.
Let us hope that noone on the ground was hurt by falling panel.
Boeing planes seem to be dropping from the skies – one part at a time. Is there no end to the rain of engine parts, tires, door plugs and maintenance hatches?
Because of extra inspections (from Boeing issues) , I question if the maintenance staff may be stretched thin. It has been unusually busy, but the quality of regular maintenance cannot be compromised.
And the missing panel photo looks a lot like galvanic corrosion I’ve seen on aluminum horse trailers.
@Maryland … +1 .
It starts with a D and ends with an I. Help me out here. Why do we know it’s true? Because it keeps happening over and over and over again. In fact, Boeing and the union tell us (brag) that D*I is a “top priority” for them. Connect the dots.
Here’s some help. It’s called confirmation bias.
Racists gotta racist, I suppose.
Yes, I have a confirmation bias for the truth. Try it sometime. You may like it.
BOOM goes the dynamite!
Did DEI also result in Lara Trump @ RNC?
Morno, your creepy, stalker, dirty old man fixation with the Trump women says a lot about you. Go back to the cellar where you belong.
It looks like to me maybe there was delamination of the panel and the forward edge separated that allowed airflow going over the panel lifting the skin causing the torn from the aircraft. Just one my thoughts.