© Reuters.
(Reuters) -The U.S. Justice Department has opened a criminal investigation into the explosion of the Boeing (NYSE 737 MAX) on an Alaska Airlines flight in January, the Wall Street Journal reported on Saturday, citing documents and people familiar with the matter. .
Investigators contacted some passengers and crew members of the Jan. 5 flight, which made an emergency landing in Portland, Oregon, after a fuselage panel ripped off midair, the WSJ said.
The investigation would inform the Justice Department's review of whether Boeing complied with an earlier agreement that resolved a federal investigation following two fatal 737 MAX crashes in 2018 and 2019, the report added.
Boeing, Alaska Airlines and the Justice Department did not immediately respond to Reuters' request for comment.
The door plug panel exploded on a flight operated by Alaska Airlines shortly after takeoff from a Portland, Oregon, airport on Jan. 5, forcing pilots to scramble to land the plane safely.
Subsequently, the United States Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) ordered the temporary grounding of 171 narrow-body MAX 9 aircraft with a similar configuration.
