America's Justice Department Opens Criminal Investigation Into Boeing's Window Blowout Incident

America's Department of Justice 'has launched a criminal investigation into the Boeing jetliner blowout that left a gaping hole on an Alaska Airlines plane,' reports the Associated Press, citing a report from the Wall Street Journal.

'As part of the new investigation, the Justice Department has interviewed pilots and flight attendants on the flight...' the Journal reports. 'Investigators have taken steps to begin notifying Alaska passengers on board during the Jan. 5 accident that they are potential crime victims in the case, according to a document viewed by The Wall Street Journal.'

The probe would inform the Justice Department's review of whether Boeing complied with an earlier settlement that resolved a federal investigation following two fatal 737 MAX crashes in 2018 and 2019. Investigations don't always result in formal charges of wrongdoing.

Separately, investigators with the Transportation Department's Inspector General's office in recent weeks have been seeking to interview Federal Aviation Administration officials in the Seattle area who oversee Boeing's manufacturing...

If the Justice Department finds that Boeing violated the terms of the 2021 settlement, the company could face prosecution on the original count of defrauding the U.S. Alternatively, the government could seek to extend the probationary, three-year agreement that requires Boeing to update the Justice Department on its compliance improvements.

In a related development, 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,' reports the Associated Press:

'We have looked extensively and have not found any such documentation,' Ziad Ojakli, Boeing executive vice president and chief government lobbyist, wrote to Sen. Maria Cantwell on Friday. 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.
Not having the documents 'raises concerns about quality assurance, quality management safety management systems within Boeing,' said the chair of the National Transportation Safety Board earlier this week.

'This is a serious, potentially illegal, lapse in standard aviation manufacturing quality processes,' reports the Seattle Times.

Meanwhile, America's National Transportation Safety Board is also investigating a United Airlines Boeing 737-8 flight 'that last month experienced 'stuck' rudder pedals,' reports Axios, 'after touching down in Newark, per a preliminary report released Thursday.'

The captain reported that during the landing rollout, which is after touchdown but before the plane slows to taxi speed, the pedals did not respond to foot pressure and remained stuck. 'The captain used the nosewheel steering tiller to keep the airplane near the runway centerline while slowing to a safe taxi speed before exiting the runway onto a high-speed turn-off,' the report states.

Shortly after, the rudder pedals began to operate normally, the captain said. There were no injures and the airplane was removed from service for maintenance and troubleshooting. An inspection found no obvious malfunctions, said the National Transportation Safety Board. After removing the rudder system components, United conducted a second flight test and found the rudder controls operated normally, per the report. 'With coordination with United, the issue was successfully resolved with the replacement of three parts and the airplane returned to service last month,' Boeing said in a statement, adding that this is the only report of such an issue that they've received for the 737 MAX fleet.

The investigation is ongoing.

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