United flight lands safely without an external panel, adding more problems for Boeing

Sign up to Simon Calder’s free travel email for expert advice and money-saving discounts Get Simon Calder’s Travel email Get Simon Calder’s Travel email SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy policy United Airlines detected a missing external panel after one of its planes landed in Oregon, adding to the growing pile of recent mishaps for Boeing. The January incident in which a panel on a Boeing 737 MAX plane blew out mid-flight prompted the Federal Aviation Administration to ground 170 of the same type of aircraft. Earlier this month, a United Airlines Boeing 737 plane was forced to make an emergency landing in Texas after its engine exploded and burst into flames mid-air. In yet another incident in March, a LATAM Airlines flight from Australia to New Zealand dropped abruptly mid-air following what was described as a “technical event”.