Report: FBI joining criminal investigation into Boeing 737 MAX

According to a Seattle Times report Wednesday, the FBI is joining a criminal investigation into the certification of Boeing’s 737 MAX airplane.

RELATED: Boeing CEO issues statement on status of 737 MAX

The Times’ report cites a source speaking on the condition of anonymity, claiming that the FBI is joining a U.S. Department of Transportation investigation already in progress.

The investigation is being overseen by the U.S. Justice Department, while the Inspector General of the USDOT carries it out. It originally kicked off as a response to information from an October Lion Air 737 MAX crash.

A total of 189 people died in that Lion Air crash out of Indonesia on Oct. 29, 2018, when the plane nose-dived into the ocean. A total of 157 people died in a similar 737 MAX crash in Ethiopia. Like the Indonesian crash, the pilot of the plane in Ethiopia sent a distress call shortly after takeoff.

A recently-filed wrongful death lawsuit alleges that that an anti-stall system new to the 737 MAX was not mentioned in Boeing’s flight manual, and that it was concealed to “minimize the differences between the MAX and other versions of the 737 to boost sales.”

That anti-stall system led to the October Lion Air crash, forcing the nose of the plane down despite the best efforts of the pilot to reverse course. The Ethiopian Airlines crash is still being investigated, but early reports seem to imply a similar fate befell that flight as well.

RELATED: Seattle firm files lawsuit against over Lion Air crash

The investigation currently underway will look to determine how exactly the 737 MAX was certified by the Federal Aviation Administration in the first place. A separate Seattle Times report recently laid out the way that FAA managers have pushed to delegate certification protocols to Boeing.

Washington Congressman Rick Larsen submitted a request of his own to the USDOT Tuesday, detailing the aspects of the 737 MAX he wants looked over as the chairman of the Aviation Subcommittee.

His bulleted list included the certification of the plane, pilot training and flight manuals, communication, and corrective actions.

Larsen’s request was co-signed by fellow Aviation Subcommittee Chairman Peter DeFazio (D-OR).

The FAA had initially balked at grounding the 737 MAX following the Ethiopian Airlines. After both Europe and Canada grounded the plane, the FAA quickly followed suit at the behest of Boeing, “out of an abundance of caution.”

Boeing has maintained “full confidence” in the safety of the 737 MAX in the days since it was grounded.

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