"DOJ Launches Criminal Probe into Boeing 737 MAX Mid-Flight Blowout and Alaska Airlines Door Incident"

The US Department of Justice has launched a criminal investigation into the mid-flight blowout of a Boeing 737 MAX operated by Alaska Airlines, interviewing witnesses including aircrew. This comes as Boeing faces heightened scrutiny over its safety record following fatal crashes in 2018 and 2019. The investigation will inform authorities' assessment of whether Boeing has complied with the terms of a $2.5bn settlement to avoid prosecution related to those crashes, while the FAA has identified non-compliance issues in Boeing's manufacturing process and given the company 90 days to come up with a plan to correct the issues.