Alaska Airlines Flight 1282 after part of the plane’s fuselage blew off mid-flight.Photo:NTSB via Getty
NTSB via Getty
The Wall Street Journal, citing documents and sources familiar with the matter, was the first outlet to report on the investigation, more than two months after the Jan. 5 flight had to make an emergency landing after a chunk of the aircraft’s cabin blew out mid-flight.
In a statement to PEOPLE, Alaska Airlines confirmed the investigation is taking place but stated it’s a “normal” part in the process.
“In an event like this, it’s normal for the DOJ to be conducting an investigation,” the airlines said in the statement. “We are fully cooperating and do not believe we are a target of the investigation.”
As part of the investigation, authorities are reportedly interviewing pilots and flight attendants who were on the plane, theWSJreported.
A door flew off an Alaska Airlines aircraft mid-flight.NTSB via Getty
The Alaska Airlines flight was en route to California from Oregon when it “experienced an incident,” the airlines said in anews releaseat the time.
Passengers documented theincidenton social media.
“We all heard a really loud bang, a jolt, and a woosh of air came back at us really quickly,” she said in a TikTok video following the incident. “Immediately, the next moment, the oxygen masks came down from the overhead compartment.” Everyone quickly put on their masks without an announcement even needing to be made, she says.
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Diego Murillo, another passenger, told theBBCthe hole left in the aircraft was “as wide as a refrigerator.”
Passenger Jessica Montoia dubbed the flight a “trip from hell.”
It’s unclear what kind of charges a criminal investigation would entail. The DOJ did not immediately respond Monday morning to PEOPLE’s requests for comment or confirmation about the reported criminal investigation.
source: people.com
