„We want answers, accountability, and safer planes“ — and a federal investigation will help, an attorney representing passengers who were on the plane that lost its door plug tells NPR.
People who were aboard a Boeing 737 Max 9 jet whose door plug was explosively expelled after departing an airport in Portland, Ore., in January are being contacted by the FBI about a criminal investigation.
„I’m contacting you because we have identified you as a possible victim of a crime,“ the letter from a victim specialist with the FBI’s Seattle Division begins.
The message, a copy of which was shared with NPR by Mark Lindquist, an attorney representing passengers, lists an investigative case number and tells the passengers they should contact the FBI through an email address set up specifically for people who were on the flight.
„We are pleased the DOJ is investigating,“ Lindquist said. „We want answers, accountability, and safer planes. Pressure from the DOJ should help.“
Lindquist, who represents 27 of the 171 passengers on the Boeing airliner, says his clients will speak to federal investigators if they’re asked.
When asked about the investigation and the letters to potential victims on Friday, a spokesperson for the FBI’s office in Seattle told NPR, „Per DOJ policy, the FBI does not confirm or deny the existence of an investigation.
