A group of 37 Alaska Airlines passengers who were aboard a Boeing-when a door plug blew out in midair are claiming that Boeing defrauded federal regulators. 

According to attorneys for the 37 passengers currently suing Boeing, the planemaker allegedly made "false promises" to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and the Department of Justice (DOJ) to overhaul its safety culture and quality control processes. This stemmed from guarantees Boeing made to regulators in 2015 and 2021, after a pair of enforcement actions related to violations of safety protocols. 

In 2015, the FAA found that Boeing had repeatedly failed to follow protocols to guard against production errors, mandating that the company make improvements in its safety management and regulatory compliance. Then in 2021, Boeing agree to take corrective action to address the root causes of "certain regulatory violations" that may have led to a pair of deadly 737 Max crashes in Indonesia and Ethiopia. 

The new complaint filed by Alaska passengers on May 3 claims that Boeing intentionally avoided taking the necessary steps to shore up its production processes despite promises made in 2015 and 2021. 

“Boeing knew about the safety problems and repeatedly promised everyone it would fix them," said Dan Laurence, a Seattle-based attorney for the passengers. "Now it is clear that was public relations covering up much deeper failures, so it could maximize aircraft deliveries."

In March, The New York Times reported that an audit from the FAA found dozens of issues in the manufacturing process for Boeing's 737 Max aircraft. In one instance, regulators watched mechanics check a door seal with a hotel key card. In another, mechanics were seen using liquid Dawn soap as a door seal lubricant. 

We have reached out to Boeing for comment on the new complaint and are awaiting a response.