Some real bad news for Boeing.
The circumstances surrounding the loss of the panel could have violated the deferred prosecution agreement Boeing agreed to resulting from the 737 Max fiasco. Complicating the matter is that Boeing is a large supplier to the DOD.
Per WSJ today,
"Under the 2021 deal, Boeing acknowledged its former employees misled air-safety regulators about aspects of the 737 MAX, and agreed to a deferred prosecution agreement, a form of corporate probation, which would have led to the dismissal of the charge had Boeing maintained a blemish-free record. A jury in Texas acquitted the only person charged in the case, a pilot whose role was to persuade regulators to approve less strenuous training for the planes.
Under the terms of the DOJ deal, prosecutors now have until July 7 to decide how to proceed, after the panel blew off the Alaska Airlines flight earlier this year. The department hasn’t accused the company of committing another crime, but said Boeing had violated a provision of its earlier deal that required it to have a compliance program designed
to detect and prevent fraud."