Passengers onboard terrifying midair door blowout Alaska Airlines flight told they may be ‘victim of a crime’

( NYPost )

The FBI has contacted passengers on the Alaska Airlines flight on which a door panel blew off at 16,000 feet to tell them that they might be a “possible victim of a crime.”

The agency’s Seattle bureau sent a letter Tuesday confirming to passengers that it has opened a criminal investigation into the Jan. 5 blowout on the Boeing 737 MAX flight, according to the Seattle Times.

It said they may be a “possible victim of a crime,” and directed the 171 passengers to set up a profile through the department’s Victim Notification System to receive updates on the case.

“A criminal investigation can be a lengthy undertaking, and for several reasons, we cannot tell you about its progress at the time,” the letter said, according to the Seattle Times.

It also added that the FBI expects a “large number of potential victims,” and has set up an email address for “Alaska Flight Victims” to contact the agency.

Mark Lindquist, an attorney representing some of the passengers who have decided to sue Boeing and Alaska Airlines in the aftermath, said the letter was “encouraging” because “it validates their sense that this was a severe event that should not have happened.”

Boeing declined comment Friday and Alaska Airlines did not immediately respond to requests from The Post.

However, the airline told the Seattle Times that it is “fully cooperating” with the Department of Justice investigation — and “do not believe we are a target of the investigation.”

Federal investigators have claimed that four bolts that were meant to secure the door plug were never actually installed on the plane when it rolled out of Boeing’s assembly plant late last year.

Officials with the Federal Aviation Administration also discovered dozens of issues involving Boeing’s 737 MAX jet production process in the aftermath of the tumultuous flight, including mechanics at one of its key suppliers using a hotel key card and dish soap as makeshift tools to test compliance.

It found that Boeing failed 33 out of 89 product audits — a review of specific aspects in the production line — with a total of 97 counts of alleged noncompliance, according to The New York Times.

Following these reports, the Department of Justice announced earlier this month that it launched a criminal investigation into Boeing.

It is seeking to determine whether the airplane manufacturer complied with a $2.5 billion settlement in 2021 following a federal investigation into fatal flights involving its Max 737 planes in 2018 and 2019 that claimed 346 souls.

DOJ officials have already interviewed several witnesses — including the pilot and crew members as part of its investigation, according to the Seattle Times.

The department also reportedly sent subpoenas to the company and has already convened a grand jury in Seattle.

Lindquist said the FBI has not yet asked any of his clients for additional information, but said he sees the letter as a sign that the agency may soon start interviewing those on board Flight 1282 about their experiences.

If the DOJ finds Boeing violated the terms of its 2021 settlement, the aircraft manufacturing giant could be prosecuted for defrauding the US, the outlet reported.

The government alternatively could extend the company’s three-year probation requiring Boeing to keep the DOJ updated on its compliance improvements.