WASHINGTON/CHICAGO, March 22 (Reuters) - United Airlines

said late Friday that U.S. safety regulators will boost

scrutiny of the airline after a series of recent safety

incidents.

United's corporate safety vice president, Sasha Johnson,

said in a memo that over the next several weeks employees will

see more of a presence by the Federal Aviation Administration

"in our operation as they begin to review some of our work

processes, manuals and facilities."

The Chicago-based airline has experienced several

emergencies in the past two weeks. On March 15 , an external

panel was found to be missing from a United aircraft when it

landed in Oregon, prompting an FAA investigation.

Before that incident, a United Airlines-operated Boeing

737 MAX rolled onto the grass in Houston. A United-operated

Boeing 777-200 bound for Japan also lost a tire after takeoff

from San Francisco and was diverted to Los Angeles, where it

landed safely.

The incidents "have rightfully caused us to pause and

evaluate whether there is anything we can and should do

differently," Johnson's memo said adding "We welcome their

engagement and are very open to hear from them about what they

find and their perspective on things we may need to change to

make us even safer."

On Tuesday, FAA Administrator Mike Whitaker told Reuters the

agency was going to look at United more closely, saying United

CEO Scott Kirby "knows we're going to be engaging a little more

closely with them as we look into these."

Asked for comment on United's memo, the FAA said on

Friday it "routinely monitors all aspects of an airline's

operation" including "compliance with applicable regulations;

ability to identify hazards, assess and mitigate risk; and

effectively manage safety."

Scrutiny on planemaker Boeing has also mounted since a

Jan. 5 Alaska Airlines mid-air emergency, with inquiries into

safety and quality standards in its production process.

Asked about additional attention many aviation incidents

are drawing, Whitaker said some events getting coverage are not

necessarily unusual but the FAA investigates to ensure there is

no broader safety trend.

Whitaker said it is important "to try to separate the

signal from the noise.... The system works well because it has a

lot of redundancy built into it, a lot of resilience."