CHICAGO — Federal regulators are increasing their oversight of United Airlines, the company announced Friday, following a series of recent issues including a piece of the outer panel falling off one jet and another suffering an engine fire on takeoff.
“Over the next several weeks, we will begin to see more of an FAA presence in our operation as they begin to review some of our work processes, manuals and facilities,” she said in a note to employees. “We welcome their engagement and are very open to hear from them about what they find and their perspective on things we may need to change to make us even safer.
Earlier this week, United CEO Scott Kirby tried to reassure customers that the airline is safe, saying that the recent issues were unrelated to each other. Among the most recent issues, a chunk of outer aluminum skin was discovered to have fallen off the belly of a United Boeing 737 after it landed in Oregon. Earlier this month, a United jet suffered an engine fire during takeoff from Houston, and a tire fell off another United jet as it left San Francisco.