Summary
- American Airlines is the newest major airline affected by faulty engine parts supplied by AOG Technics Ltd, with parts found on not less than one aircraft.
- AOG Technics Ltd provided CFM with fake engine parts with fake documentation, affecting CFM56 engines used on older-generation Airbus A320s and Boeing 737s.
- Several other major airlines, including Southwest Airlines, Virgin Australia, and United Airlines, have also discovered and replaced faulty AOG parts on their aircraft.
The Fort Value, Texas-based airline, American Airlines, has announced that it’s the newest major airline affected by faulty engine parts. American Airlines announced it had found parts on not less than one aircraft that a faulty vendor supplied.
Engine parts affected
Fake engine parts have been plaguing major airlines internationally. The primary supplier of the faulty parts known as AOG Technics Ltd. Aviation regulators have said that the corporate knowingly provided CFM with parts with fake documentation.CFM makes the CFM56 engine, which has been installed on each older-generation Airbus A320s and Boeing 737s prior to now. AOG has been providing parts for use as spare parts on the CFM56.
Photo: Lukas Souza | Easy Flying
Overall, AOG provides CFM with 50 different part numbers on the CFM56. CFM International Inc. has also said that AOG parts have been utilized in nearly 70 of its plants internationally.
American Airlines is the newest to be affected by the improperly certified spare parts. The airline told Bloomberg News on September 21 that it identified the AOG parts on not less than considered one of its aircraft. The airline didn’t specifically discover which part it found and what number of aircraft were affected. A spokesperson for the airline said,
“Through the work of internal audits in addition to collaboration with our suppliers, we’ve identified the uncertified components on a small variety of aircraft — each were immediately taken out of service for substitute. We’ll proceed working with our suppliers and coordinating closely with the FAA to make sure these parts are not any longer in our supply or otherwise in use on our aircraft.”
Other airlines affected
American’s findings come inside a day of the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) issuing a warning to airlines and other aviation corporations in america. The FAA announced that unapproved parts could also be on planes and that owners should inspect their planes and inventories for affected parts.
After the primary parts were discovered in Europe, a seek for more faulty parts began. Records show that as much as 96 CFM engines were fitted with AOG components.
Southwest Airlines was the primary major carrier to find AOG components on its aircraft. The airline found two low-pressure turbine blades on considered one of its Boeing 737 aircraft on September 8. The faulty parts were each immediately replaced before the aircraft was put back into service.
Photo: Ryan Fletcher | Shutterstock
Several days later, Virgin Australia announced that it had grounded two of its Boeing 737s as a result of finding fraudulent parts. The primary aircraft, identified as VH-VUT, was grounded as a result of one other low-pressure turbine blade. After the part was removed, the aircraft was returned to service. Its second aircraft, identified as VH-YFR, was found to have a seal supplied by AOG that was situated on an inner high-pressure turbine nozzle.
United Airlines also announced that it had found faulty parts on two of its aircraft. The parts in query were each compressor stator vanes, which help direct airflow throughout the engine. The airline also announced that it could replace the parts and return each aircraft into service.