SEATTLE (AP) — The Department of Justice has initiated a criminal investigation into the Boeing jetliner blowout incident that resulted in a substantial hole on an Alaska Airlines plane earlier this year, according to a report by the Wall Street Journal. Investigators are said to have reached out to passengers and crew members, including pilots and flight attendants, who were aboard the flight on January 5th.
Alaska Airlines expressed cooperation with the investigation while emphasizing they do not believe they are the focus of the inquiry. Boeing, on the other hand, declined to offer any comments regarding the matter. The DOJ’s probe is expected to aid in reviewing whether Boeing upheld a prior settlement related to a federal examination of the safety of its 737 Max aircraft following the tragic crashes in 2018 and 2019.
In a recent development, Boeing disclosed to Congress that it could not locate documentation for work carried out on the door panel of the Alaska Airlines aircraft. The company highlighted that records related to the panel’s removal and reinstallation potentially never existed, despite Boeing’s system mandating it.
The National Transportation Safety Board revealed that four bolts crucial for securing the door plug were absent after the panel was removed for repair work on damaged rivets back in September. This incident has cast a shadow over Boeing’s safety protocols, with scrutiny intensifying on the aviation giant’s practices concerning quality assurance and safety management systems.
The Federal Aviation Administration has instructed Boeing to outline its strategy for addressing quality-control concerns flagged by the agency and a group of industry and government experts within a 90-day period. This latest development sheds light on the critical nature of the ongoing investigation and its potential ramifications for Boeing and the aviation industry at large.
