The US Department of Justice (DOJ) has opened a criminal investigation into the incident involving an Alaska Airlines Boeing 737 MAX 9 aircraft. The DOJ announced this investigation on March 9, over two months after the incident occurred. 

Federal investigators contacted passengers and crew members who were on Alaska Airlines flight 1282 on January 5. The Boeing 737 MAX 9, with registration N704AL, saw part of its fuselage blow off shortly after takeoff from Portland, Oregon (PDX). The pilots made an emergency landing in Portland instead of going to the intended destination: Ontario, California (ONT). The incident became a national story and raised concerns about Boeing's culture, quality control, and the general safety of its 737 MAX aircraft after suffering two major incidents in 2018 and 2019.

According to the Wall Street Journal, the DOJ investigation will determine whether Boeing complied with a $2.5 billion settlement reached in January 2021. The aircraft manufacturer agreed to settle criminal charges related to the 737 MAX crashes in Malaysia in 2018 and Ethiopia in 2019. 

Alaska Airlines released this statement when AeroXplorer reached out for a request for comment:

“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.“