United Airlines says FAA to increase scrutiny after safety issues

CHICAGO, Illinois: On March 22, United Airlines said that after a series of recent issues, including a piece of the outer fuselage falling off one jet, an engine fire, and a plane losing a tire during takeoff, federal regulators will increase their oversight of the airline.

In a note to employees, Sasha Johnson, vice president of corporate safety at United, said the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) will investigate "multiple areas of our operation" to ensure safety compliance.

"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.

She added that the FAA will pause certification activities but did not provide details.

The FAA did not describe any additional steps it takes in United's case, stating that it "routinely monitors all aspects of an airline's operation."

The agency's spokesperson said its oversight "focuses on an airline's compliance with applicable regulations; ability to identify hazards, assess and mitigate risk; and effectively manage safety."

"We are going to look at each one of these incidents and see if we see a pattern. No one likes to see this spike of incidents," FAA Administrator Mike Whitaker told NBC News earlier this week.

He added that he spoke with United CEO Scott Kirby about the events.

Kirby told customers that the airline was safe and that the recent issues were unrelated.

The airline was already planning an extra day of pilot training starting in May and making changes in the training curriculum for newly hired mechanics. He added that it would consider additional changes.

United is the second-largest airline in the U.S. by revenue, behind only Delta Air Lines.