FBI tells Alaska Airlines passengers on flight where door blew out they may be a ‘victim of a crime’
The FBI has contacted passengers on the Alaska Airlines flight on which a door panel blew off at 16,000 feet to tell them that they might be a “possible victim of a crime.”
The agency’s Seattle bureau sent a letter Tuesday confirming to passengers that it has opened a criminal investigation into the Jan. 5 blowout on the Boeing 737 MAX flight, according to the Seattle Times.
It said they may be a “possible victim of a crime,” and directed the 171 passengers to set up a profile through the department’s Victim Notification System to receive updates on the case.
“A criminal investigation can be a lengthy undertaking, and for several reasons, we cannot tell you about its progress at the time,” the letter said, according to the Seattle Times.
It also added that the FBI expects a “large number of potential victims,” and has set up an email address for “Alaska Flight Victims” to contact the agency.
Mark Lindquist, an attorney representing some of the passengers who have decided to sue Boeing and Alaska Airlines in the aftermath, said the letter was “encouraging” because “it validates their sense that this was a severe event that should not have happened.”
Catch up on Boeing’s ongoing airplane fiasco
Boeing has recently been plagued by safety concerns that began Jan. 5 after a door panel blew off a Boeing 737 MAX 9 jet during a flight from Oregon to California. According to the National Transportation Safety Board, the plane — which was operated by Alaska Airlines — appeared to be missing four key bolts.
Scott Kirby, CEO of United Airlines, threatened to shun Boeing after the carrier’s fleet of MAX 9 aircraft was grounded in the wake of the near-disastrous Alaska Airlines door blowout.
Jennifer Homendy, chair of the National Transportation Safety Board, warned that another midair door blowout like the Boeing 737 MAX 9 fiasco “can happen again,” adding there was a “problem with the process” of production.
Disaster struck again a week after the initial incident when a Boeing plane was forced to make an emergency landing in Japan due to a crack in the cockpit window.
A Boeing 757 lost its front tire as the aircraft was preparing to depart for an international flight in late January. At Atlanta International Airport, a Delta flight bound for Bogota, Colombia, was taxiing across the runway into takeoff position when another plane alerted the control tower that something was amiss.
Later, a UK passenger was alarmed after noticing pieces of tape on the exterior of a Boeing 787 during a flight to India, as seen in shocking photos.
A United Airlines Boeing 777-300 aircraft suffered a midair fuel leak and was forced to make an emergency landing Monday, March 11, marking the fifth incident the airline reported in a little over a week.
Ryanair CEO Michael O’Leary previously said he’s made “loud complaints” to Boeing over quality control.
Whistleblower John Barnett raised safety concerns at the airline’s factories and provided his first testimony at a bombshell lawsuit against Boeing. He was found dead in his truck after he failed to show up for the second part of his testimony on Monday.
Boeing declined comment Friday and Alaska Airlines did not immediately respond to requests from The Post.
However, the airline told the Seattle Times that it is “fully cooperating” with the Department of Justice investigation — and “do not believe we are a target of the investigation.”
Federal investigators have claimed that four bolts that were meant to secure the door plug were never actually installed on the plane when it rolled out of Boeing’s assembly plant late last year.
Officials with the Federal Aviation Administration also discovered dozens of issues involving Boeing’s 737 MAX jet production process in the aftermath of the tumultuous flight, including mechanics at one of its key suppliers using a hotel key card and dish soap as makeshift tools to test compliance.
It found that Boeing failed 33 out of 89 product audits — a review of specific aspects in the production line — with a total of 97 counts of alleged noncompliance, according to the New York Times.
Following these reports, the Department of Justice announced earlier this month that it launched a criminal investigation into Boeing.
It is seeking to determine whether the airplane manufacturer complied with a $2.5 billion settlement in 2021 following a federal investigation into fatal flights involving its Max 737 planes in 2018 and 2019 that claimed 346 souls.
DOJ officials have already interviewed several witnesses — including the pilot and crew members as part of its investigation, according to the Seattle Times.
The department also reportedly sent subpoenas to the company, and has already convened a grand jury in Seattle.
Lindquist said the FBI has not yet asked any of his clients for additional information, but said he sees the letter as a sign that the agency may soon start interviewing those on board Flight 1282 about their experiences.
If the DOJ finds Boeing violated the terms of its 2021 settlement, the aircraft manufacturing giant could be prosecuted for defrauding the US, the outlet reported.
The government alternatively could extend the company’s three-year probation requiring Boeing to keep the DOJ updated on its compliance improvements.
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