The US Justice Department (DOJ) opens a criminal investigation into the world’s largest aerospace company, reports The Wall Street Journal.
The incident
The probe will investigate an incident that happened on an Alaska Airlines flight on January 5, 2024. During the flight, a panel called a “door plug”, on the Boeing 737 Max 9 jet blew out midair.
No one was seriously injured during the incident. However, had the plane been at a higher altitude, only minutes later, or had cabin crew or passengers been walking around at the time of the blowout, the situation might have been entirely different, according to The New York Times.
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The investigation
The DOJ will review whether or not Boeing complied with the terms of a 2021 settlement.
In that case, the DOJ charged Boeing with fraud conspiracy after two fatal crashes were attributed to faults in the 737 Max’s “Maneuvering Characteristics Augmentation System,” Forbes writes.
According to Reuters, Alaska Airlines has said it is cooperating with the DOJ, stating in an email to the news agency, "In an event like this, it's normal for the DOJ to be conducting an investigation. We are fully cooperating and do not believe we are a target of the investigation.”