The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has initiated a criminal probe into the incident involving a door panel blowout on an Alaska Airlines flight, which occurred at 16,000 feet.
In a letter sent on Tuesday, the FBI’s Seattle bureau confirmed the initiation of a criminal investigation into the January 5 incident involving the Boeing 737 MAX flight, the New York Post reported. The letter directed the 171 passengers to register through the department’s Victim Notification System to receive updates on the case.
‘Alaska Flight Victims’
Acknowledging the potential complexity of criminal investigations, the letter, according to the Seattle Times, stated that updates on progress couldn’t be provided at the time. The FBI anticipates several potential victims and has established an email address for “Alaska Flight Victims” to facilitate contact with the agency.
Mark Lindquist, an attorney representing some passengers intending to sue Boeing and Alaska Airlines, said that the letter was “encouraging” as it validated their belief that the incident was serious and should not have occurred. Boeing declined to comment, while Alaska Airlines asserted its full cooperation with the Department of Justice investigation.
US federal investigators revealed that four bolts intended to secure the door plug were missing when the plane left Boeing’s assembly plant last year. The Federal Aviation Administration discovered numerous issues in Boeing’s 737 MAX production process following the incident, including unorthodox methods used by mechanics at a key supplier to test compliance.
Boeing failed 33 out of 89 product audits, resulting in 97 counts of alleged noncompliance, according to US media reports. Consequently, the US Department of Justice (DOJ) launched a criminal investigation to determine if Boeing complied with a $2.5 billion settlement in 2021 following investigations into fatal flights involving its Max 737 planes in 2018 and 2019, which claimed 346 lives.
The DOJ officials have interviewed multiple witnesses, including the pilot and crew members, and issued subpoenas to the company. A grand jury has been convened in Seattle as part of the investigation
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