FAA investigates United Boeing 737 flight missing panel

The Federal Aviation Administration is investigating how a United Airlines Boeing 737-800 lost an external panel before landing safely in Oregon Friday.
United Flight 433 landed at Medford Airport around 1:45 p.m. PDT carrying 139 passengers and six crew after departing from San Francisco, the FAA and airline said.
The FAA said a post-landing airline inspection of the 25-year-old airplane revealed a missing panel. United said it will also investigate and said no emergency was declared because there was no indication of the damage during flight.
“We’ll conduct a thorough examination of the plane and perform all the needed repairs before it returns to service,” the airline said in a statement.
Boeing did not comment, directing questions to United Airlines. According to FAA records, the plane was built in late 1998.