Alaska Airlines placed restrictions on the Boeing plane involved in a dramatic mid-air blowout after pressurisation warnings in the days before Friday's incident, investigators say.
The jet had been prevented from making long-haul flights over water, said Jennifer Homendy of the US National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB).
The NTSB also says the missing section of plane has now been found - in the back garden of a Portland teacher.
No-one was hurt in Friday's drama.
After losing part of its fuselage, the plane - a Boeing 737 Max 9 - made a safe emergency landing after returning to its departure city, Portland.
There were 177 passengers and crew on board the flight to Ontario, California.
Some 171 planes of the same type remain grounded by the US regulator, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), as safety checks continue.