Alaska CEO is the 2nd airline boss in a day to slam Boeing — and says he's 'mad' and 'angry'

• Alaska Airlines CEO Ben Minicucci told NBC he was "mad" and "angry" about the Flight 1282 blowout.
• Boeing is under scrutiny after loose bolts were found on several more 737 Max 9 jets.

Alaska Airlines' CEO expressed his frustration with Boeing during an interview with NBC News — the second airline boss to do so on Tuesday.

"It makes me angry," Ben Minicucci told NBC. "Boeing is better than this. And Flight 1282 should never have happened, should never have happened."

The Boeing 737 Max 9's door plug — which covers a deactivated emergency exit — came off in midair on January 5, prompting the Federal Aviation Administration to ground all 171 such jets.

Minicucci told NBC: "We had a guardian angel, honestly," because the 178-capacity plane had seven unoccupied seats — which happened to include those next to the gaping hole.

Nobody was seriously injured as the Alaska Airlines flight returned to the airport 20 minutes take off, but the incident has renewed scrutiny of Boeing.

Alaska and United Airlines, the largest 737 Max 9 operator with 79 in service, found loose bolts on several planes during inspections after the grounding.

"It makes you mad that we're finding issues like that on brand-new airplanes," Minicucci told NBC.

Earlier on Tuesday, United CEO Scott Kirby also shared his irritation with Boeing, and said he could change the carrier's order book as a result.

Kirby told CNBC he was "disappointed" and is building an alternative plan without the Boeing 737 Max 10, which he believes will be five years behind schedule as it awaits certification.

"The Max 9 grounding is probably the straw that broke the camel's back for us," he added.

In a statement, Boeing Commercial Airplanes CEO Stan Deal said: "We have let down our airline customers and are deeply sorry for the significant disruption to them, their employees and their passengers."

"We are taking action on a comprehensive plan to bring these airplanes safely back to service and to improve our quality and delivery performance," he added. "We will follow the lead of the FAA and support our customers every step of the way."