Summary
- American Airlines joins other carriers in removing aircraft from service as a consequence of false safety documents for parts fitted to engines.
- CFM, the manufacturer of the CFM56 engine, applauds the court ruling for AOG Technics to release documentation aiding the identification of fraudulent parts.
- Airlines are focused on ensuring customers’ safety by removing potentially at-risk parts from their supply chains and replacing them.
American Airlines has turn out to be the most recent casualty of the scandal surrounding AOG Technics regarding false safety documents for dubious parts fitted to engines operated on Airbus A320s and Boeing 737s.
The Federal Aviation Administration has reiterated that the documents provided were falsified, and earlier this month, the FAA issued an unapproved parts notification (UPN) for the parts supplied by AOG without approval.
Photo: Davidi Vardi / Shutterstock
Parts are destined for the CFM56 engine, which is currently deployed on older Airbus SE A320 models and Boeing 737.
Probably the greatest-selling aircraft engines
Widely reported as one among the best-selling engines for these aircraft types, the CFM engine range is a 50/50 three way partnership between Safran Aircraft Engines of France and GE Aerospace of the USA.
To make the partnership work, GE Aerospace is answerable for producing the compressors, combustors, and overall high-pressure turbine, while Safran is in control of the fan, exhaust, gearbox, and the low-pressure turbine, along with further parts coming from Avio (Italy), and Honeywell (US).
Photo: minhanphotos / Shutterstock
Last week, within the high court in London, UK, CFM was in a position to argue for AOG Technics to release information on sales for the CFM56 and CF6 variant parts. As reported by AerotTime, CFM noted:
“We applaud the court’s ruling compelling AOG Technics to release documentation that can aid the industry in additional rapidly identifying parts sold with fraudulent documentation in order that they could be promptly addressed.”
Supply chain challenges
As airlines all over the world are only coming to terms with issues as a consequence of the availability chain of parts and recent aircraft, the manufacturer reiterated its concentrate on safety for purchasers:
“Safety is our priority, and we’re taking aggressive legal motion against AOG Technics for selling unapproved aircraft engine parts with falsified airworthiness documentation. We remain united with the aviation community in working to maintain unapproved parts out of the worldwide supply chain.”
Safran Aircraft Engines has reported to this point that they imagine around 100 engines have at-risk parts.
American Airlines is not the primary.
As soon because the American carrier became aware of the concerning parts, several of its aircraft were faraway from service and now join the list of other airlines, reminiscent of Virgin Australia (VA), TAP Portugal (TP), United Airlines (UA), and Southwest (WN), which are awaiting substitute parts.
Photo: Elena Nikou / Shutterstock
The US carrier released an announcement surrounding the scandal:
“We’ve identified the uncertified components on a small variety of aircraft; each was 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.”
European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) has reminded carriers to envision over documents to make clear if parts have the potential to be sourced from AOG Technics and act appropriately.
What does this mean for passengers?
While the scandal’s scope stays unclear, airlines look to take appropriate motion in removing aircraft from service to make sure all parts meet industry requirements. Should your flight be affected, the airline should make contact with alternative travel arrangements.
Sources: Aerotime