The Justice Department has begun a criminal investigation into the door plug blowout on an Alaska Airlines-operated Boeing 737 Max 9 jet, the Wall Street Journal reported.
Boeing declined to comment on the matter. Travel Weekly has requested comment from the Justice Department. Alaska confirmed that it has heard from Justice Department investigators.
"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," the airline said.
The WSJ, citing documents it has viewed as well as anonymous sources, said that investigators have contacted passengers and crew on the Jan. 5 Alaska Airlines flight, in which a door plug blew out while the plane was at 16,000 feet and ascending, moments after departure from Portland, Ore.
The National Transportation Safety Board has concluded that bolts on the door plug likely were not reinstalled after being removed at the Boeing plant in Renton, Wash., last September for repair work.
Boeing is no stranger to criminal probes. In 2021, the company settled a Justice Department criminal fraud case in connection with crashes in 2018 and 2019 of Boeing 737 Max 8 planes by paying $2.5 billion to victims of the crashes and to its airline customers.
A total of 346 people died in the in the 2018 and 2019 Max crashes of Lion Air Flight 610 and Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302.