AN investigation is under way after a Boeing plane was found to be missing an external panel following a short haul flight.
The plane landed safely but the missing section was not noticed by crew during the 90-minute journey.
It was spotted during a post-flight inspection of the 25-year-old Boeing 737-800 aircraft.
United Airlines Flight 433 had 139 passengers and six crew on board for Friday afternoon’s trip to Medford, Oregon, from San Francisco.
The US airport paused operations to check the runway and airfield for debris but none was found.
The Federal Aviation Administration is probing the incident.
United said: “We will conduct a thorough examination of the plane and perform all repairs before it returns to service.”
Boeing did not comment.
The manufacturer has been rocked by several incidents in recent months.
A door was blown out of one of its 737 MAX planes mid-flight in January.
In recent weeks, one lost a tyre after take-off, another rolled off a runway and a third made an emergency landing with an engine fire.
