Chunk of a Boeing 737 falls off mid-air during flight

it seems that the Boeing 737 is causing more issues as the exterior panel of the aircraft fell off during a recent flight.

The United Airlines flight took off from San Francisco at 10.20am on Friday (15 march) on its way to Medford Airport in Medford.

The airport’s director Amber Judd said that the plane carrying 139 passengers and six crew members landed safely.

It was only during the post-flight inspection of the Boeing 737-800 when airport staff noticed that the external panel was missing.

She claims that the team searched the runway and airfield for debris, but none was found.

A United Airlines spokesperson said there way no indication of damage during the flight.

“After the aircraft was parked at the gate, it was discovered to be missing an external panel,” the United Airlines spokesperson said.

“We’ll conduct a thorough examination of the plane and perform all the needed repairs before it returns to service.

“We’ll also conduct an investigation to better understand how this damage occurred.”

The airline said the missing panel was on the underside of the aircraft where the wing meets the body and just next to the landing gear.

United has used the aircraft - which has come under criticism recently - since November 2011.

This comes after a string of incidents, including what happened on 5 January when a part of the Boeing 737 Max 9 was torn off mid-flight.

The 177 passengers and crew onboard the Alaska Airlines flight were forced to make an emergency landing after a part of its fuselage and a window were blown out shortly after take off.

The plane was heading to Ontario, California and had departed from Portland, Oregon, just after 5.00pm local time.

According to flight tracking data, the jet had climbed to more than 16,000ft (4,876m) when chaos erupted and oxygen masks were deployed as a gaping hole appeared in the side of the aircraft.

The Boeing 737 Max 9 made an emergency landing at Portland International Airport around 20 minutes after initially taking off - no injuries were reported.

The travel firm's CEO, Ben Minicucci, issued a statement at the time saying: "My heart goes out to those who were on this flight - I am so sorry for what you experienced. I am so grateful for the response of our pilots and flight attendants.

“We are working with Boeing and regulators to understand what occurred tonight, and will share updates as more information is available. The National Transportation Safety Board is investigating this event and we will fully support their investigation."