American Airlines is the latest carrier to report the discovery of faked safety documents for replacement parts in one of its jets’ engines, as the scale of the AOG Technics scandal is beginning to be revealed.
The US giant’s report is at least the 96th such alert of engines built by CFM International (owned by General Electric and Safran) fitted with components with allegedly faked safety certification sold by the London-based AOG Technics.
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The forgeries were discovered in Europe in August, but the issue appears to be global.
The US Federal Aviation Authority (FAA) issued an Unapproved Parts Notification this week over potentially thousands of dangerous engine parts.
Meanwhile, a court in London ordered AOG Technics to disclose its records in a suit brought by CFM and its co-owners against the London-based company and its founder, Jose Alejandro Zamora Yrala.
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We are taking aggressive legal action against AOG Technics for selling unapproved aircraft engine parts with falsified airworthiness documentation
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By GlobalData
The High Court ruled the company must hand over its sales documents to help the aviation industry track and find all parts sold with false documents.
The AOG Technics website has been taken down, but at the time of publication, the UK’s Government business register listed the company as “Active” and Zamora Yrala as the sole director.
CFM has been working with airlines to confirm whether safety certifications are forged or legitimate. The company’s court filings showed that records CFM argued are faked are linked to thousands of items sold by AOG Technics.
The faked certificates cover global aviation jurisdictions, including the FAA, EASA and the Civil Aviation Administration of China.
CFM engines are generally used on older Airbus SE A320 and Boeing 737 aircraft.
In a statement responding to the court order, CFM said it would continue “aggressive legal action” against AOG.
The statement read: “We applaud the court’s ruling compelling AOG Technics to release documentation that will aid the industry in more rapidly identifying parts sold with fraudulent documentation so they can be promptly addressed.
“Safety is our first priority and we are taking aggressive legal action against AOG Technics for selling unapproved aircraft engine parts with falsified airworthiness documentation. We remain united with the aviation community in working to keep unapproved parts out of the global supply chain.”
A spokesperson for American Airlines said: “We’ve identified the uncertified components on a small number of aircraft; each was immediately taken out of service for replacement.
“We’ll continue working with our suppliers and coordinating closely with the FAA to ensure these parts are no longer in our supply or otherwise in use on our aircraft.”
Airport Technology reached out to AOG Technologies for comment but received no reply.
