- According to The Wall Street Journal, the Justice Department has launched a criminal investigation into the January 5 incident
- A door plug blew off an Alaska Airlines plane, endangering the lives of its 171 passengers and forcing the plane to make an emergency landing
The Justice Department has opened a criminal investigation into the Alaska Airlines Boeing 737 MAX 9 flight, which suffered a near-catastrophic impact at 16,000 feet.
On January 5, a door plug blew off mid-flight with 171 passengers and crew on board, forcing the plane to make an emergency landing in Portland, Oregon.
Investigators have now contacted some passengers to inform them they may be victims of a crime, and have interviewed pilots and flight attendants, according to documents seen by The Wall Street Journal.
The investigation may not result in formal allegations of wrongdoing, but it will inform a Justice Department probe into whether Boeing complied with the requirements of the settlements reached after the two fatal crashes in 2018 and 2019.
If they fail to meet the terms of the settlement, Boeing could be prosecuted for defrauding the US.
The latest development in the investigation into Boeing adds to the company’s troubles, which include a civil investigation among other recent high-profile incidents involving its planes.
Six Alaska Airlines passengers have sued Boeing after their horror flight in which a door plug blew out at 16,000 feet, forcing a dramatic emergency landing in Oregon
Boeing CEO Dave Calhoun speaks to reports at the Capitol in January after MAX 9 planes were grounded
Alaska Airlines told the Journal: “In an event like this, it is normal for the DOJ to conduct an investigation. We are cooperating fully and do not believe we are the target of the investigation.”
The new criminal investigation follows civil investigations by the National Transportation Safety Board and the FAA, which found “multiple instances where the companies allegedly failed to meet quality control requirements in production.”
The criminal investigation will examine whether Boeing complied with the terms of the 2021 settlement reached after the fatal crashes in 2018 and 2019 that killed 346 people.
The first occurred when a Max 8 operated by Indonesian Lion Air crashed into the Java Sea in October 2018.
The second was when an Ethiopia Airlines 737 Max 8 almost crashed straight into a field six minutes after takeoff from Addis Ababa in March 2019.
Boeing reached a $2.5 billion settlement with the FBI and the Department of Transportation in the wake of the crashes, admitting that two former employees misled the FAA about the amount of training a new flight control system would require.
If the Justice Department determines that Boeing violated the terms of that settlement, they could be prosecuted on the original charge of defrauding the US.
Boeing declined to comment on the criminal investigation. DailyMail.com contacted Alaska Airlines for comment.
Boeing is also facing a civil lawsuit against a group of passengers on board the flight.
In January, an Alaska Airlines flight suffered a near-catastrophe when an airplane door blew out at 16,000 feet above Portland
There were no serious injuries from the terrifying air disturbance, but passengers’ belongings, including phones, flew from the plane
Earlier this week, the head of the National Transportation Safety Board accused Boeing of failing to provide some key data requested in the ongoing investigation into the airborne cabin door emergency.
NTSB Chairman Jennifer Homendy said investigators have sought the names of the 25 people working on door plugs at a Boeing factory in Renton, Washington, but have not received them from Boeing.
“It’s absurd that two months later we still don’t have it,” Homendy said Wednesday during a Senate Commerce Committee hearing.
Boeing maintained that it initially provided the NTSB with some names of Boeing employees, including door specialists it believed might have relevant information.
Senator Ted Cruz, the top Republican on the Commerce Committee, called it “completely unacceptable” that the NTSB did not receive full cooperation from Boeing.
Homendy also confirmed that the MAX 9 door plug had moved during previous flights, citing markings on the door.
The door plug incident was followed by ashbad press for Boeing, which has made headlines in recent weeks for problems with planes, including one engine explodes during flight from Texas and a wheel that fell off during takeoff in San Francisco.
