Panel falls off plane in flight

A Boeing 737-800 lost an external panel mid-flight Friday — the latest issue involving one of the manufacturer’s planes that was only discovered when it landed at an Oregon airport, according to officials.

United Airlines Flight 433 departed from San Francisco around 10:20 a.m. local time and landed safely at its intended destination, Rogue Valley International-Medford Airport, about 70 minutes later, according to airport officials and flight data.

Once the plane reached the gate, an external panel was found to be missing, halting operations at the airport while a runway safety check was conducted, airport director Amber Judd told The Post in a statement.

There was no indication of a problem and no emergency was declared during the flight, which had 139 passengers and six crew members on board, United said.

Airport staff searched for the panel on the premises, but were unable to locate it.

“After finding no debris on the airfield, normal operations at MFR resumed a few minutes later,” Judd said.

United Airlines said it plans a “thorough examination” of the 25-year-old plane and will “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 added.

The Federal Aviation Administration will also investigate, a spokesperson said.

There have been a series of recent incidents on Boeing planes, including Wednesday, when an American Airlines flight was forced to make an emergency landing at Los Angeles International Airport over a “possible mechanical issue.”

On Monday a United Airlines flight heading from Sydney to San Francisco was forced to turn around due to a fuel leak.

Boeing declined to comment.