Alaska Airlines Collaborates with DOJ in Probe of Boeing 737 MAX Incident

Alaska Airlines is cooperating with the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) to investigate the Boeing 737 Max explosion incident.

Reuters reported on the 10th that Alaska Airlines has been cooperating with the DOJ since a criminal investigation into the Boeing 737 Max airplane explosion incident began.

In a statement to Reuters, Alaska Airlines said, “It is typical for the DOJ to conduct investigations in such incidents,” and “We are fully cooperating and do not believe we are the subject of the investigation.”

Previously, The Wall Street Journal reported, citing related remarks on January 5, that the investigators had contacted some passengers and crew members after the fuselage panel of the plane to Portland, Oregon, tore in mid-air.

According to Thomson Reuters, Alaska Airlines will provide information for the DOJ’s review of whether Boeing complied with a previous agreement that resolved federal investigations following two fatal 737 Max crashes in 2018 and 2019.

On January 5, Alaska Airlines made an emergency landing after the door plug panel of the plane exploded shortly after taking off from Portland Airport in Oregon.

In response, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) issued a temporary take-off ban for 171 jets of a similar configuration, the 738 Max 9.

A few days after the incident, on January 26, Alaska Airlines resumed Max 9 service after announcing that it had completed inspections on the first group of Boeing 737 Max 9 aircraft.

Moreover, the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) revealed in February that four crucial bolts were missing from the flown door panel. The plug was manufactured in 2005 by Spirit Aerosystems, separated from its parent company, Boeing.