News
External Panel Missing from United Airlines Plane Discovered After Oregon Flight
A section of a United Airlines aircraft was discovered missing upon inspection Friday afternoon in Southern Oregon, adding to a growing list of mishaps for the airline.
United Airlines Flight 433 took off from San Francisco and successfully landed 90 minutes later at Rogue Valley International Airport in Medford, Ore., at 11:53 a.m.
Airport personnel noticed a “piece from the underside of the plane,” a Boeing 737-800, was missing upon a routine postflight inspection, Airport Director Amber Judd told The Times.
“Our airport operations were paused briefly so that we could conduct a runway safety check to look for debris,” Judd said. “We did not find anything.”
Judd said the plane landed safely and all 139 passengers and six crew members exited without an issue.
The flight was scheduled to continue to Denver, but was initially delayed 3 hours and 35 minutes before eventually being canceled.
“It’s my understanding that most passengers were aware of the delay and the circumstances, although there were probably some that didn’t know,” Judd said.
United Airlines in a statement Friday said the aircraft’s crew did not declare an emergency to airport personnel as “there was no indication of the damage during flight.”
“After the aircraft was parked at the gate, it was discovered to be missing a panel,” United’s statement read. “We’ll conduct a thorough examination of the plane and perform all needed repairs before it returns to service.”
The airlines also said it would conduct an investigation.
Judd said the plane was an older 737-8 and not one of the Boeing Max aircrafts that have received scrutiny in January after a door panel blew off an Alaska Airlines flight that left Portland, Ore.
Nonetheless, four Boeing planes operated by United have suffered incidents over the last two weeks.
A Boeing spokesperson referred all questions to United Airlines regarding the airline’s fleet and operation.
On Monday, a San Francisco-bound United Airlines flight turned around two hours after leaving Sydney. The Boeing 777-300 aircraft returned due to a maintenance issue.
Prior to that, a Boeing 777-200 operated by United Airlines made an emergency landing in Los Angeles after a tire fell off on March 7.
There was also an emergency landing in Houston on March 4 after flames were spotted coming from a United Airlines Boeing 737-900ER. United confirmed the engine ingested bubble wrap.
Four days later, a Boeing 737-8 Max rolled onto the grass near a runway in Houston upon landing, though no passengers were injured.
United stressed their were no injuries in any of these incidents.
“We take every safety event seriously and will investigate each of the incidents that occurred this month to understand what happened and learn from them,” the United statement said. “Much of this work is conducted together with the manufacturers, the FAA, and the NTSB as well as with the manufacturers of individual components.”
News
Is now the right time to invest in gold as prices have cooled?
The price of gold has climbed to record highs recently and has remained strong through much of April. And, that growth continued until the precious metal traded at around $2,390 per ounce on April 19, 2024. But since, growth in the price of the precious metal has cooled, with gold’s price now hovering around $2,300 per ounce.
This lull in gold’s price may represent an investment opportunity.
In general, investing is centered around buying assets when prices are low and selling them when prices are high – generating a profit on the difference between the two. So, considering the declines in gold’s price over the past few days, now may be the time to make your investment. But is buying gold during this lull in prices really a good idea?
Compare your gold investment options among leading brokers now.
Gold prices have cooled. Should you buy in now?
With gold’s price down from recent highs, you may be wondering if now is the right time to buy in. There are several reasons the dip in gold’s price may represent an opportunity to buy. Here are some of the biggest:
Prices may rise again
If looking at a gold price chart shows anything for certain, it shows that changes in the overall growth of the medal come in fits and spurts. Periods of price growth are typically followed by periods of declines and vice versa.
But with inflation rising in recent months – and with gold’s reputation as a safe-haven asset that can hedge against inflation – it only makes sense that the price of the precious metal will eventually start to head up again in the future. While attempting to time that directional change may be tricky, buying the precious metal while the price is down gives you the opportunity to take advantage of any upward movement that may be ahead.
Add gold to your portfolio now before prices have a chance to rise.
You may be able to make a quick profit
Gold isn’t known as an asset in which you can earn a quick return, but in today’s market, that may be the case. Don’t forget that in January, gold was trading at just $2,000 per ounce. And, by mid-April, the commodity’s price had climbed to around $2,400 per ounce. That’s about 20% growth in a matter of months, much of which happened since March 1 – an impressive climb for any investment asset.
Perhaps more importantly, gold’s price growth through the beginning of 2024 shows that the commodity doesn’t have to be a buy and hold style investment that you keep in a safety deposit box or precious metal depository for years to come. There’s also the possibility that the commodity’s price could climb further ahead, making it a compelling way to potentially generate a quick profit.
There are other benefits of investing in gold
There are other benefits of investing in gold that have little to do with the price growth seen thus far in 2024 – or the lull in prices seen over the past couple of days. Those benefits include:
- Inflation protection: Gold has long been considered an inflation hedge, and for good reason. When inflation drives the prices of consumer goods and services up – and the value of the dollar down – gold’s price tends to rise. So, it could be used to maintain the value of your portfolio during inflationary economic conditions. That’s important in today’s economic environment as stubborn inflation continues to weigh on the value of the dollar.
- Portfolio diversification: Gold’s price doesn’t always move in the same pattern that bonds or stocks do. So, mixing a reasonable amount of gold into your portfolio (up to 10% of your portfolio assets) as a diversifier could protect you from losses should one or more of your traditional portfolio assets fall in value. “If you have less than 5% – 10% of your net worth in commodities & FX (forex), you should absolutely consider adding exposure to gold and other precious metals,” says Vijay Marolia, money manager and managing partner at the wealth management firm, Regal Point Capital.
The bottom line
Gold’s price has fallen from recent highs – which may represent an opportunity to tap into growth ahead. However, gold isn’t simply a “buy while it’s low and sell while it’s a high” kind of investment opportunity. The commodity can also protect your portfolio from the stubborn inflation we’ve seen thus far in 2024 while acting as a diversification tool that could increase your risk-adjusted portfolio returns. So, consider adding gold to your portfolio today while it has the potential to grow in value.
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Is now the right time to invest in gold as prices have cooled?