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Alaska Airlines CEO Ben Minicucci vented his frustration with Boeing after one of his planes lost a door plug mid-flight.
“I am angry. I am beyond frustrated and disappointed. I'm angry,” he told NBC Nightly News. “This happened to Alaska Airlines. It happened to our guests and our people.”
Alaska Airlines' CEO said the airline found loose screws on many of the 737 MAX 9 jets inspected in its fleet.
“And – my challenge to Boeing is what are they going to do to improve their quality programs internally,” he added.
BOEING, ALASKA AIRLINES SUED BY PASSENGERS
Alaska Airlines CEO Ben Minicucci speaks during the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Global Aerospace Summit on September 15, 2022 in Washington, DC. (Valerie Plesch/Bloomberg via Getty Images / Getty Images)
An Alaska Airlines Boeing 737 MAX 9 aircraft stands at the gate of Seattle-Tacoma International Airport in Seattle, Washington, on January 6, 2024. (Stephen Brashear/Getty Images / Getty Images)
Minicucci said the under-fire airline has added its own oversight of the production line at Boeing.
“We send our auditors to review their quality control systems and processes to ensure that every aircraft that comes off the production line to Alaska has the highest level of excellence and quality,” he said.
United Airlines CEO Scott Kirby also said the company also found other loose screws on its Max 9 planes.
The fuselage plug area of the Boeing 737-9 Max of Alaska Airlines Flight 1282, which was forced to make an emergency landing with a gap in the fuselage, was spotted during its investigation by the National Transportation Safety Board in Portland, Oregon, on January 1, 2019… (NTSB/Handout via Portal / Portal Photos)
Minicucci, who became president of Alaska Airlines in 2016 and began his career as an engineer, has not blamed the airlines but apologized to guests on board.
“And I realize that we received a plane from Boeing with a defective door,” he told the outlet. “Now the NTSB investigation will determine why there was a faulty door, whether it was poor installation, missing hardware or a manufacturing problem, but there is no doubt that Alaska rolled a plane with a faulty door off the assembly line took.”
FAA COMPLETES 40 BOEING 737 MAX 9 INSPECTIONS AND VERIFIES DATA
In a video apology on January 17, Minicucci expressed his gratitude to the crew on board at the time of the emergency landing for their “exceptional professionalism.”
“I am so incredibly grateful to the crew for responding with exceptional professionalism and returning the flight and everyone on board safely to Portland,” Minicucci said in a video posted to YouTube. “I sincerely apologize to everyone on board the flight for what you experienced.”
Alaska Airlines Flight 1282 was headed to Ontario, California and suffered a depressurization shortly after departure from Portland, Oregon. (Portal / Portal Photos)
After the incident, the FAA announced it was investigating Boeing to determine whether the company failed to ensure its products were safe to operate after the door plug exploded at 16,000 feet, forcing the California-bound flight to make an emergency landing in Portland .
The agency also said it would investigate Boeing's manufacturing practices and production lines, “including those involving subcontractor Spirit AeroSystems, strengthen its oversight of Boeing, and examine possible system changes.”
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Boeing did not immediately respond to FOX Business' requests for comment on Minicucci's comments.