Southwest Boeing plane engine cover falls off during takeoff

An engine cover fell off 25 minutes after takeoff on Sunday from a Houston bound Boeing 737-800 plane by Southwest Airlines, hitting the wing flap, AFP reported.

The passengers on board were transferred to another aircraft while Southwest issued a statement saying, "Our Maintenance teams are reviewing the aircraft."

The ordeal pushed the passengers three hours behind schedule.

The Southwest Flight 3695 was travelling to Houston from the Denver International Airport and had 135 passengers and six crew members on board.

As per Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) records, the plane was deemed fly worthy in May 2015.

Upon questioning, Southwest has declined to say when the plane's engine had last had maintenance.

Boeing has come under intense criticism since a door plug panel tore off a new Alaska Airlines 737 MAX 9 jet mid-air in January.

In the aftermath of that incident, the FAA grounded the MAX 9 for several weeks, barred Boeing from increasing the MAX production rate and ordered it to develop a comprehensive plan to address "systemic quality-control issues" within 90 days.

The FAA is investigating several other recent engine issues on Southwest's fleet of Boeing planes.

A Southwest 737-800 flight on Thursday aborted takeoff and taxied back to the gate at Lubbock airport in Texas after the crew reported engine issues.