Summary
- The European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) has warned operators and MRO organizations a couple of stolen part from a Maleth Aero Airbus A330 aircraft.
- The misplaced aircraft manufacturing identification plate is now considered unapproved and never eligible for installation on an aircraft.
- The aviation industry is currently amidst a fake parts scandal after EASA revealed that some CFM56 engine parts, supplied by UK-baed AOG Technics, were fake.
The European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) has warned operators and Maintenance, Repair, and Overhaul (MRO) organizations of a stolen a part of a Maleth Aero Airbus A330 aircraft. In a notice, the regulator said that the Maltese Civil Aviation Directorate inside Transport Malta (TM) informed EASA of a misplaced aircraft manufacturing identification plate of the aircraft. The part was added to the Unapproved Parts (UP) list.
18-year-old A330
In accordance with EASA, the aircraft’s registration is 9H-MFS. Because it was reported stolen or lost, the part with the part number (PN) NSA9117-43F is now EASA added that,
As well as, if the part is found either onboard an aircraft or stored in inventory, the European regulator beneficial removing the part, quarantining it, and informing the Maltese authorities in regards to the misplaced aircraft manufacturing identification plate.
In accordance with ch-aviation data, the Maleth Aero Airbus A330-200 was delivered initially to TAM Linhas Aereas, now generally known as LATAM Airlines Brazil, in October 2005. (The airline merged with LAN in 2012, forming the LATAM Group.) After LATAM Airlines phased it out in February 2018, AtlasGlobal, a now-defunct Turkish Airline, took delivery of the aircraft, with the carrier operating a complete of three A330-200s until its bankruptcy in February 2020.
Maleth Aero, an Aircraft, Crew, Maintenance, and Insurance (ACMI) and charter operator took delivery of the twin-aisle jet in November 2020. Ch-aviation data showed that the aircraft is owned by Aircraft Engine Lease Finance (AELF), a Puerto Rico-based lessor specializing in mid-life aircraft and engine transactions.
Along with the topic Airbus A330, the ACMI airline also has 4 other aircraft of the kind, including a single A330 converted freighter. The carrier also owned one Airbus A340-600 converted aircraft, registered as 9H-PPE, which was operated as a phreighter until March 2023, in keeping with planespotters.net. Nonetheless, it was faraway from the Maltese register, and its recent operator, European Cargo, reregistered it as G-ECLN. Flightradar24 records showed the aircraft conducting a test flight from and to Bournemouth Airport (BOH) on October 24, 2023.
Photo: InsectWorld | Shutterstock
On high alert
For the past few months, the industry has been on high alert about suspected UNs as EASA warned that had fake Authorized Release Certificates (ARC) in August 2023. AOG Technics, a UK-based firm, supplied the suspected parts.
Photo: Alexiushan | Shutterstock
Because the authority issued the warning, several airlines have warned that their aircraft could have engines with fake parts on them. The CFM International CFM56 engine is used to power the Airbus A320ceo and Boeing 737 Next Generation (NG), in addition to the Classic aircraft families. In a report by Reuters, a lawyer representing CFM International said in court filings that 1000’s of faked engine parts have been sold by the UK firm, with potentially 96 affected aircraft as of September 18, 2023. In a later report by the identical publication a month later, CFM International indicated that fake parts were found on at the least 145 engines, half of which were faraway from service.
Interestingly, AOG Technics filed its financial statements with the UK Corporations House for the yr as much as February 28, 2023. The corporate ended the financial yr with net current assets of £2.4 million ($2.9 million), a decrease from last financial yr’s net current assets of £2.5 million ($3 million).