The US Department of Justice has opened a criminal investigation into the Boeing 737 MAX door blowout that occurred on January 5th 2024.

Federal investigators have contacted some passengers and crew involved in the incident to establish facts. The Justice department has also interviewed the heroic pilots that safely landed their damaged aircraft, saving all 177 people on board.

Alaska Airlines has commented, saying “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 motivation behind this investigation is to find out whether Boeing complied with a settlement made in 2021, following the two 737 MAX crashes in 2018 and 2019. Leading to the settlement, special agents with the FBI investigated Boeing, resulting in a $2.5bn payout. The Justice department faulted Boeing for how it communicated with the FAA about a new flight control system, MCAS, which was inevitably to blame for the two crashes. These accidents combined resulted in 346 lives being tragically lost.

If the Justice Department finds that Boeing violated the terms of this settlement, the company could face prosecution on the count of defrauding the United States. It is believed that investigators have began notifying the passengers onboard Alaska 1282 that they are potential crime victims in this case.

The NTSB is worried that a criminal investigation alongside their safety investigations could complicate matters. It could mean that Boeing’s cooperation with the NTSB declines, making future aviation safety relating to this incident, a challenge.

What are your thoughts? Do you think it’s a efficient use of DoJ resources? Let us know in the comments.