(NewsNation) — An Alaska Airlines flight from Arlington, Virginia, landed safely in Portland, Oregon, after the plane’s inner windshield cracked during descent Monday.
According to the airline, the windshield suffered a small crack, but with the plane’s five-layer windows, it was able to land safely without a loss of pressure. The plane, a Boeing 737, was carrying 159 passengers and six crew members at the time and will be inspected and repaired by engineers on the ground.
In the meantime, United Airlines CEO Scott Kirby acknowledged recent safety problems on some of its planes.
The letter to customers came after a United flight landed safely in Oregon after a panel fell off the bottom of the fuselage. The plane? Also a Boeing 737.
Boeing has made headlines with other safety issues, including a door plug that blew off the fuselage of a plane midflight. The Boeing 737 has also had other parts fly off in the air and has experienced engines catching fire.
Boeing is already under intense scrutiny from regulatory agencies, but United has also promised to sharpen its focus on safety.
The letter reads in part, “Unfortunately, in the last few weeks, our airline has experienced a number of incidents that are reminders of the importance of safety. While they are all unrelated, I want you to know that these incidents have our attention and have sharpened our focus.”
He also announced an additional day of training for pilots starting in May and “centralized training for new maintenance workers.”
On Friday, crews in Oregon found a panel missing from the fuselage of a Boeing 737 800 that was built in 1998. The plane landed safely, but concerns were heightened after several other incidents, including a tire that came off a flight during takeoff from San Francisco, an engine fire that forced a flight to return to Houston and another plane that landed there and rolled off the runway and got stuck in the grass. Passengers had to be helped off with moveable stairs.
Nobody was injured in any of the incidents, and United said it was still reviewing the causes behind the mishaps. The Federal Aviation Administration is also investigating many of them.
