CEO of Alaska Airlines: After the near-disaster, we discovered’many’ loose bolts on our Max 9 aircraft.

The CEO of Alaska Airlines said new inspections of the carrier’s Boeing 737 Max 9 planes revealed that “many” of the aircraft were found to have loose bolts.

“I’m enraged,” stated Ben Minicucci. This incident involved Alaska Airlines. Both our visitors and our citizens experienced it.”

Following a near-disaster earlier this month, the CEO of Alaska Airlines announced that fresh, internal examinations of the airline’s Boeing 737 Max 9 aircraft revealed that “many” of the aircraft had loose nuts.

Alaska Airlines CEO Ben Minicucci reviewed the results of his company’s inspections conducted thus far following the Jan. 5 incident, in which a panel on one of its Max 9 planes blew out midair on a flight carrying 177 people, in an exclusive interview with NBC News senior correspondent Tom Costello.

He declared, “I’m more than disappointed and frustrated.” “I’m upset. Alaska Airlines experienced this. Both our visitors and ourselves experienced it. Additionally, I want Boeing to tell me how they plan to enhance their internal quality programs.

The Federal Aviation Administration ordered all Boeing Max 9 aircraft to be grounded after the incident and started a safety investigation. Additionally, the regulator said that an audit of suppliers and Boeing’s Max 9 production line would be conducted “to evaluate Boeing’s compliance with its approved quality procedures.” Additionally, it is putting Boeing and its outside suppliers under even more scrutiny.

Lawmakers have also questioned the effectiveness of Boeing’s quality control procedures in light of the tragedy.

Sens. Ed Markey, J.D. Vance, and Peter Welch wrote to Boeing CEO Dave Calhoun earlier this month, expressing their “deep concern that the loose bolts represent a systemic issue with Boeing’s capabilities to manufacture safe airplanes” in light of the prior fatal crashes of Boeing 737 Max aircraft.

The FAA has not yet issued the exact maintenance orders necessary for them to resume service, therefore there is currently no schedule for getting the Boeing-built aircraft back into service.

According to Minicucci, Boeing now has to demonstrate how it can enhance quality control and stop such events from happening in the future. However, he added, Alaska Airlines is adding its own extra inspection to the Boeing assembly line out of caution.

According to Minicucci, Boeing now has to demonstrate how it can enhance quality control and stop such events from happening in the future. However, he added, Alaska Airlines is adding its own extra inspection to the Boeing assembly line out of caution.

“We’re sending our audit people to audit their quality control systems and processes to make sure that every aircraft that comes off that production line, that comes to Alaska has the highest levels of excellence and quality,” he stated.

In a different interview with CNBC on Wednesday, United Airlines CEO Scott Kirby stated that the airline is currently considering a future for its fleet without the Boeing 737 Max 10, a more recent iteration of the well-liked aircraft.

Additionally, United has reported that it discovered more loose bolts on its Max 9 aircraft.

Although Alaska Airlines “was” planned to purchase Max 10, according to Minicucci, the airline will now assess “what the best long-term strategic plan is for Alaska(‘s) fleet mix” if the aircraft is certified. Minicucci made this statement to NBC’s Costello.

“I believe that everything is open right now… for us,” he stated, indicating that Hawaiian Airlines, which Alaska Airlines is in the process of purchasing, operates aircraft made by Airbus, Boeing’s competitor. “I believe that in terms of fleet composition, we will act in the long-term best interests of Alaska. It allows us to have choices.”

Boeing expressed regret for disappointing its airline customers and for the major inconvenience caused to them, their staff, and their passengers in a statement provided to NBC News. We are moving forward with a thorough plan to enhance our quality and delivery performance while safely reintroducing these aircraft into service. We’ll heed the FAA’s guidance and be there for our clients at every turn.

Minicucci, an engineer by training who was named president of Alaska Airlines in 2016, expressed shock that an event similar to the one that occurred earlier this month could have occurred.

“I knew that this was an issue out of the (Boeing) factory,” he stated. “There was no question in my mind.”

And it’s obvious to me that the aircraft we received from Boeing had a malfunctioning door. There’s no doubt that Alaska received an airplane off the production line with a faulty door “Minicucci mentioned the National Transportation Safety Board’s investigation, saying “Now the NTSB investigation is going to figure out why that was a faulty door, whether it was bad installation, missing hardware, or a manufacturing issue.”