WSJ: DOJ Now Looking Into Boeing Door Blowout

The DOJ has launched a criminal investigation into the Boeing jetliner blowout that left a gaping hole on an Alaska Airlines plane this January, the Wall Street Journal reported on Saturday. Citing documents and people familiar with the matter, the newspaper said investigators have contacted some passengers and crew—including pilots and flight attendants—who were on the Jan. 5 flight, which suffered the blowout seven minutes after takeoff from Portland, Oregon. What you need to know:

• One statement: "In an event like this, it's normal for the DOJ to be conducting an investigation," Alaska Airlines said in a prepared statement. "We are fully cooperating and do not believe we are a target of the investigation." Boeing declined to comment, per the AP. The DOJ did not immediately reply to a request for comment.
• Context: The Journal reported that the investigation would assist the DOJ's review of whether Boeing complied with a previous settlement that resolved a federal investigation into the safety of its 737 Max aircraft following two deadly crashes in 2018 and 2019. The New York Times is less equivocal on that point, reporting, "It was not immediately clear if the criminal investigation was related to the review of the 2021 settlement or a separate inquiry."

• The outcome of that investigation: In 2021, Boeing had agreed to pay $2.5 billion, including a $244 million fine, to settle an investigation into the crashes of flights operated by Lion Air and Ethiopian Airlines. The company also blamed two employees for deceiving regulators about flaws in the flight-control system.
• And if it didn't comply? The Journal reports that if the DOJ determines Boeing violated the terms of that 2021 settlement, the company "could face prosecution on the original count of defrauding the US" or possibly see its probationary, three-year agreement extended; under it, Boeing must keep the DOJ updated on its compliance improvements.
• A records issues: Boeing has acknowledged in a letter to Congress that it cannot find records for work done on the door panel of the Alaska Airlines plane. The company said its "working hypothesis" was that the records about the panel's removal and reinstallation on the 737 MAX final assembly line in Renton, Washington, were never created, even though Boeing's systems required it.

(More Boeing stories.)