Passengers on Alaska Airlines Flight 1282, which made an emergency landing in January due to a blown out door plug, received a letter from the FBI.
The agency identified the passengers as victims of a possible crime.
“This comes after reports that Boeing is STALLING the investigation into what actually caused this malfunction, by refusing to hand over key documents and the names of those who worked on that particular plane. Boeing has even gone so far to say that important data relating to this has been overwritten,” journalist Nick Sortor wrote.
JUST IN: The FBI has contacted passengers aboard the Alaska Airlines Boeing 737 MAX which lost a door mid flight in January identifying them as “possible victims of a crime.”
This comes after reports that Boeing is STALLING the investigation into what actually caused this… pic.twitter.com/5sC6KCyDan
— Nick Sortor (@nicksortor) March 22, 2024
Attorney Mark Lindquist, who represents passengers on the flight in litigation against Boeing and Alaska Airlines, shared the letter with NBC News.
“I’m contacting you because we have identified you as a possible victim of a crime,” a victim specialist with the FBI’s Seattle division wrote in the letter, according to NBC News.
NEW: Passengers of the Alaska Airlines flight that was forced to make an emergency landing when a door panel fell off midair have received a letter from the FBI identifying them as victims of a possible crime. https://t.co/khvUzJKyRT
— NBC News (@NBCNews) March 22, 2024
“All 171 Passengers aboard the Alaska Airlines Boeing 737 Max 9, which experienced a midair door blowout at 16,000 feet in January 5th, have been contacted by the FBI. The agency identified them as possible victims of a crime and confirmed to passengers that it has opened a criminal investigation,” Rawsalerts wrote.
⁰#UnitedStates | #USA ⁰⁰All 171 Passengers aboard the Alaska Airlines Boeing 737 Max 9, which experienced a midair door… pic.twitter.com/GctCwBGOyL
— R A W S A L E R T S (@rawsalerts) March 22, 2024
Per NBC News:
The specialist says that the FBI launched a criminal investigation into the incident, which “can be a lengthy undertaking,” adding that the agency can’t tell the passengers about its progress at this time. The specialist also encouraged passengers to contact an email address with the alias “AlaskaFlightVictims” with any questions or comments.
People who received the letter will be updated on the case by email, or through a victim notification system, the specialist said.
NBC News has reached out to the FBI for additional information.
Last week, the DOJ opened a criminal investigation into the door plug blowout on the Boeing 737 Max 9 plane, a person familiar with the matter confirmed to NBC News.
Lindquist said he was pleased that the DOJ is investigating the near-disaster.
FBI tells Alaska Airlines passenger onboard disastrous flight that saw door plug blown out mid-air they may be ‘victim of a crime’ https://t.co/AuOhVwHleG pic.twitter.com/MnW8Dbd1Ue
— New York Post (@nypost) March 22, 2024
From the New York Post:
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.”
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 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.
This is a Guest Post from our friends over at 100 Percent Fed Up.
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