United States: US prosecutors have launched a criminal inquiry into the mid-flight burst involving an Alaska Airlines Boeing 737 MAX, as per the reports.
As part of the investigation into the January 5 incident, in which a section of the fuselage blew off mid-flight, the Department of Justice (DOJ) has spoken with witnesses, including aircrew, the Wall Street Journal and The Washington Post reported on Saturday. Alaska Airlines declared that it was assisting law enforcement.
The inquiry is underway at a time when Boeing’s safety record is being questioned in the wake of many mishaps, including two deadly Boeing 737 MAX crashes in 2018 and 2019.
The US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) announced on Monday that it had conducted an audit of Boeing that involved employee interviews and a visit to the company’s production line. The audit revealed “non-compliance issues in Boeing’s manufacturing process control, parts handling and storage, and product control.”
Boeing was given ninety days by the FAA to develop a plan to address the problems.
Significant issues with Boeing’s safety culture were discovered in a different FAA assessment that was published last month but was initiated prior to the blowout event. Among these issues were employees’ worries of reprisal for raising safety concerns.
In a letter to the US Congress on Friday, Boeing stated that it was unable to find documentation for the maintenance done on the door panel that came off the Alaska Airlines aircraft.
The aircraft manufacturer, located near Seattle, stated that although company policies mandated such documentation, it thinks documents about the panel were never made.
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