“A criminal act”: the disturbing FBI letter received by passengers of the Boeing 737 Max whose door was torn off in flight

D'après l'enquête préliminaire, des boulons de l'appareil étaient manquants. ILLUSTRATION UNSPLASH – CODY FITZGERALD

According to the FBI, the passengers of the Boeing 737 Max whose escape door came loose in mid-flight were victims of a "criminal act".

On January 5, a Boeing 737 Max airliner operated by Alaska Airlines, which was carrying 171 passengers and 6 crew members, lost one escape door in mid-flight.

A few people were slightly injured and the piece of the device was found the following Sunday in a garden in Portland in the United States.< /p>

"We have identified you as a possible victim of a crime"

While a criminal investigation was opened at the beginning of March by the Department of Justice, the FBI informed the passengers of the flight by mail that they could have been targeted by a "criminal act", according to information published this Friday, March 22, 2024 by the < em>Seattle Times, relayed by HuffPost.

In the document revealed by the latter, a police officer wrote: "I am contacting you because we have identified you as a possible victim of ;rsquo;a crime".

In this letter he adds: "A criminal investigation can be a long-term undertaking and, for several reasons, we cannot inform you of its progress at this time.

Missing bolts

The first conclusions of the preliminary investigation, released on February 6, revealed that bolts supposed to block the door of the device were missing. The Transportation Safety Agency (NTBS), in charge of the investigation, specified that the absence of wear or deformation around certain holes &amp ;quot;indicates that four bolts intended to prevent the cap door from moving upwards were missing before it moved".

The loss in mid-flight of this "cap holder" of the company Alaska Airlines in the United States had raised the question of the reliability of Boeing planes, in particular of its reference 737 Max, the company's best-selling model.