Justice Department investigating door plug blowout on Alaska Airlines flight, report says
The Department of Justice has opened a criminal investigation into the door plug blowout on an Alaska Airlines-operated Boeing 737 Max 9 flight, The Wall Street Journal reported Saturday.
The Department of Justice has opened a criminal investigation into the door plug blowout on a Boeing 737 Max 9 plane during an Alaska Airlines flight in January, The Wall Street Journal reported Saturday.
The Wall Street Journal, citing “documents and people familiar with the matter,” reported that the DOJ has contacted some passengers who were on the flight to notify them that they are potential victims in the criminal investigation, and that the agency has interviewed pilots and flight attendants who were on the flight.
Both the Justice Department and Boeing said they had no comment on The Wall Street Journal report about the investigation.
“In an event like this, it’s normal for the DOJ to be conducting an investigation,” Alaska Airlines said in a statement, adding that it is “fully cooperating and [we] do not believe we are a target of the investigation.”
On Jan. 5, Flight 1282 departed Portland International Airport for Ontario International Airport in San Bernardino County, California, but turned back after a portion of the plane’s fuselage, known as a “door plug,” detached shortly after takeoff. No one on board was seriously injured and the plane landed safely, but officials cautioned that the situation could have been “much more tragic.”
Rating: 5