Growing wildfires across Western Canada are forcing thousands from their homes
Thousands of people in Western Canada remain displaced from their homes as wildfires threaten their communities, triggering evacuation orders and alerts.
The CEO of United Airlines is trying to reassure travellers that the airline is safe despite a series of recent incidents ranging from a panel falling off a plane to an engine fire.
CEO Scott Kirby said Monday that United will review safety training for all employees. Kirby says the airline was already planning an extra day of training for pilots starting in May and changes in training curriculum for new mechanics.
In a message to customers, Kirby says the recent incidents are reminders of the importance of safety. He says the flight issues are all unrelated, but they have grabbed United's attention.
"Unfortunately, in the past few weeks, our airline has experienced a number of incidents that are reminders of the importance of safety," he said. "While they are all unrelated, I want you to know that these incidents have our attention and have sharpened our focus."
Kirby said the airline is reviewing each recent incident and will use what it learns to "inform" safety training and procedures. He did not give any details beyond measures that he said were already being planned, such as the extra day of training for pilots.
Some of the recent incidents -- such as cracks in multi-layer windshields -- don't normally attract much attention but have gained news coverage and clicks on social media because of the sheer number of events affecting one airline in a short period of time.
To a degree, United may be a victim of heightened concern about air safety since January when a panel blew off an Alaska Airlines Boeing 737 Max at 16,000 feet above Oregon; investigators say bolts securing the panel were missing.
"I don't see a major safety issue at United," said John Cox, former airline pilot and now a safety consultant. "The media is enhancing the events with extra scrutiny. Anything right now that happens to a United airplane makes the news."
Cox said the incidents "are unfortunate, and they are getting a lot of attention, but I don't see that they are showing an erosion in the safety of the commercial aviation system."
In the most recent incident at United, on Friday a chunk of the outer aluminum skin fell off the belly of a Boeing 737-800 that was built in 1998.
Also last week, a United flight from Dallas to San Francisco suffered a hydraulic leak, and another flight bound for San Francisco returned to Australia two hours after takeoff because of an undescribed "maintenance issue."
Earlier this month, a United flight returned to Houston after an engine caught fire, and a tire fell off a United Boeing 777 during takeoff in San Francisco.
United planes have even had mishaps while on the ground. Last month, pilots on one plane reported that rudder pedals used to steer on the runway briefly failed after touchdown in Newark, New Jersey.
This month, a jet landing in Houston rolled off an airport taxiway in Houston and got stuck in grass. Workers had to haul out moveable stairs to help passengers exit the plane.
There were no injuries in any of the incidents, several of which are under investigation by federal officials.
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Shelley Adler in Fairfax, Virginia, contributed to this report.
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