Alaska Airlines CEO Ben Minicucci stated during a Tuesday interview for “NBC Nightly News with Lester Holt” that the airline discovered “some loose bolts on many” Boeing 737 Max 9.
The CEO was doing his first interview since the pilot of one of the company’s Max 9 aircraft had to make an emergency landing when a door plug blew out of the side of the fuselage a few minutes into the journey from Portland, Oregon, to Ontario, California.
“I’m not only upset and irritated. I’m upset. Alaska Airlines experienced this. Excerpts from the interview were made public prior to its airing, and Minicucci stated, “It happened to our guests and happened to our people.”
“This is not as good as Boeing.”Minicucci stated in the interview that “Flight 1282 should never have happened.”
The Boeing 737 manufacturing in Renton, Washington will hold what it refers to as a “quality stand down” on Thursday, the firm said on Tuesday.
“Production, delivery, and support teams will have a day off during the session to allow staff members to participate in quality-focused working sessions. The business released a statement saying, “This is a part of the immediate quality actions that CEO Stan Deal of Boeing Commercial Airplanes recently shared.”
The 737 stand down is the first of several that Boeing will hold at its facilities, according to an internal memo that the company delivered to its staff.
NBC questioned Minicucci about if Boeing has an issue with quality control that goes beyond a single aircraft.
“I believe that the question that needs to be addressed right now is what Boeing will do differently with their quality program to ensure that the aircraft we receive is of the highest caliber and that’s what needs to change moving forward,” he stated.
