RENTON, WA (MyBellinghamNow.com) – Alaska Airlines says Boeing has paid the carrier $160 million in initial compensation for a panel that blew out of an Alaska Airlines Boeing 737 Max 9 jetliner in January.

The payment covered Alaska Airlines’ pretax loss related to the accident, including lost revenue and the cost of returning its Max 9 fleet to service after the planes were grounded for three weeks.

Alaska Airlines quickly grounded its other Max 9s, and the Federal Aviation Administration followed by grounding all Max 9s in the United States.

The Justice Department is examining whether the incident violated terms of a settlement that Boeing reached in 2021 to avoid criminal prosecution for allegedly misleading regulators who certified Max jets for flights.