FBI tells passengers on Alaska flight they may have been victims of crimes

Passengers aboard an Alaska Airlines plane that made an emergency landing after a fuselage panel blew off this year have recently started receiving letters from the FBI identifying them as possible victims of a crime.

The letters are a sign that the criminal investigation that the Justice Department has opened into Boeing, the manufacturer of the 737 Max 9 jet, is being stepped up.

“As a victim specialist in the Seattle Division, I am contacting you because we have identified you as a possible victim of a crime,” reads the letter from the FBI Seattle office, a copy of which was obtained by The New York Times. The letter states that the incident is the subject of a criminal FBI investigation, but adds that such investigations can take a long time and that “for several reasons we cannot tell you about their progress at this time.”

The panel on the flight, which was carrying 171 passengers and six crew members, exploded at an altitude of 16,000 feet shortly after the plane left the Portland, Oregon, airport in early January. The National Transportation Safety Board said in a preliminary report that the panel, known as a door plug and used to fill the space that would have been occupied by an emergency exit door if the plane had more seats, was missing four bolts intended to secure it to make. in situ.

Steve Bernd, a spokesman for the FBI’s Seattle office, declined to comment on the criminal investigation. Boeing also declined to comment. The company has previously stated that it would cooperate in the investigation.

Mark Lindquist, an attorney for some of the passengers, said his clients welcomed the investigation. “We want answers, accountability and safer Boeing planes,” he said. “The DOJ is bringing a big hammer down on these targets.”

The Wall Street Journal previously reported that investigators had contacted some passengers and crew members.

The investigation is one of a growing number of problems for Boeing, including a recent Federal Aviation Administration audit that found problems in the production process. The Justice Department is also investigating a 2021 settlement of a criminal charge against the company stemming from fatal crashes involving its Max 8 planes. In that case, the department had agreed to drop the levy in exchange for Boeing paying more than $2.5 billion, most of it in the form of compensation to customers.

Federal investigators said they were still trying to determine the names of the employees who worked on the door plug that blew out. Boeing told members of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation and the National Transportation Safety Board that it could not find any records containing the information.