You may have heard some scary things about United Airlines flights recently. Well, United CEO Scott Kirby hopes those off-putting headlines don’t stop you from experiencing the pleasure of being one of his company’s passengers.
“Unfortunately, in the past few weeks, our airline has experienced a number of incidents that are reminders of the importance of safety,” he wrote in a memo to customers reported by The Associated Press. “While they are all unrelated, I want you to know that these incidents have our attention and have sharpened our focus.”
On Friday, a United flight landed in Oregon with a panel missing on its underside near the wing after flying from San Francisco. The carrier and the Federal Aviation Administration are investigating. The incident comes after a week of safety incidents on United planes in the week or so prior, including:
- A flight where a tire fell off after takeoffs
- A flight where a plane veered off the runway after landing
- A flight that had to land early after a hydraulics issue
- A flight that had to turn around because of an engine oil indicator light
- A flight that had to turn around because a mechanical issue led to flames spewing from the engines
There were no injuries reported in any of the incidents, but given the billion-dollar fears unleashed by the Alaska Airlines door plug blowout in January, anxieties are still running high.
Kirby said that United has added an extra day of pilot training to its corporate calendar and is looking into what keeps happening with its flights.
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