The FBI told Alaska Airlines passengers they might be ‘victims of a crime’

(CNN) — Passengers aboard the Alaska Airlines Boeing 737 Max 9 that suffered a horrific mid-air explosion in January received a letter from the FBI saying they may be victims of a “crime.”

Attorney Mark Lindquist, who represents several passengers traveling on Alaska Airlines Flight 1282, shared with CNN the letter the FBI office in Seattle sent to the passengers on Tuesday.

Aviation experts raise questions about Boeing 737 Max 9 ‘fuselage plug’ design

“I am contacting you because we have identified you as a possible victim of a crime,” the letter reads in part. He also noted that the FBI is currently investigating the case.

“My clients and I welcome the (US) Department of Justice investigation,” Lindquist told CNN. “We want accountability. We want an answer. We want safe Boeing airplanes. And the Justice Department’s investigation helps advance our goals.”

Attorney Robert Clifford, who represents several family members of victims of the 2019 crash of a Boeing 737 Max plane operated by Ethiopian Air, as well as recent Alaska Air passengers, said some of his clients at Alaska Air also received the letter. Notifying them that they may be victims of crime.

“I’m sure everyone on the plane will get this letter,” he told CNN. “Families of Ethiopian Air victims should also face the crime.”

In addition to letters sent to passengers, flight attendants aboard Alaska Air Flight 1282 were interviewed by Justice Department investigators, who were familiar with the situation.

The letters were reported earlier this month by The Wall Street Journal.

“The FBI does not confirm or deny the existence of an investigation,” the FBI public affairs office in Seattle wrote in an email to CNN, citing Justice Department policy.

Potential criminal liability of Boeing

But a judge opened an investigation into the incident and Boeing in February, CNN previously reported. That investigation is likely to uphold a controversial deferred action agreement Boeing struck with the Justice Department in the final months of the Trump administration.

The deal, which was criticized by family members of the crash victims and members of Congress, was prompted by allegations that Boeing cheated the Federal Aviation Administration during the original certification process for the 737 Max plane. Boeing agreed to pay $2.5 billion as part of that settlement, but most of that money Boeing had already agreed to pay to the airlines that bought the Max planes that crashed in Ethiopian Air and were grounded for 20 months after the crash. Previously in Indonesia.

A deferred prosecution agreement would have ended Boeing’s threat of facing criminal liability for earlier fraud allegations. But the Alaska Air incident occurred just days before the end of a three-year probationary period, so a criminal investigation could expose Boeing not only to the Alaska Air incident but also to previous wrongful convictions.

Boeing declined to comment.

On January 5, 171 passengers and six crew members boarded a flight from Portland, Oregon, bound for Ontario, California. Suddenly, after takeoff, a fuselage panel called a “door plug” exploded, forcing the pilots to make an emergency landing.

A preliminary investigation by the US National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) found that the plane – which Boeing delivered to Alaska in October – left the Boeing factory without the four bolts needed to hold the door stoppers in place.

While the NTSB has yet to assess the fault for the missing bolts, it has criticized Boeing for not having documents available to show who worked on the door plugs while the plane was at the Boeing factory.

The US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) also found multiple problems with the manufacturing practices of both Boeing and its main supplier, Spirit Aerosystems, after a six-week audit of Boeing sparked by a door stopper explosion on January 5.

Recently, Department of Justice subpoenas have also been sent to obtain documents and information that may be related to Boeing and Spirit Aerosystems, and refer to the “door plug” used on the Boeing 737 Max 9, according to a Bloomberg report.

“We caused the problem and we understand it,” Boeing CEO Dave Calhoun told investors last month. “Whatever conclusion is reached, Boeing is responsible for what happened.”

The development comes the same week that Boeing said it would report a large loss in the first quarter of this year due to the Alaska Airlines incident.

The loss will come as part of compensation to airlines owned by Max 9, which was grounded for three weeks after the incident. Alaska Air CEO Ben Minicusi told investors last month that the incident cost his airline about $150 million and that Boeing was expected to recoup those losses.

Other contributors to the losses will be “all the things we’re doing at the factory,” Chief Financial Officer Brian West said Wednesday, leading to slower production at its 737 Max plant in Renton, Washington.