Forged certificates call for full vigilance of aircraft industry

Europe's aviation regulator recently exposed some details on an ongoing probe into a British company supplying unsourced engine repair parts, through providing falsified documentation, for the maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) facilities that are also responsible to serve some engine models of Airbus and Boeing aircrafts.

A statement issued by the European Union Aviation Safety Agency said that the London-based AOG Technics sold many aircraft parts with forged authorization certificates and the suppliers who were supposed to supply the parts did not issue relevant certificates.

That all aircraft parts can be traced to source is the norm of the MRO industry. Yet it remains unclear how the falsified documentation had crossed the sea by a trick in such a crucial industry that stresses precision, professionalism and reliability.

EASA has now asked aircraft owners, operators, maintenance organizations and parts dealers to check their records for aircraft parts obtained directly or indirectly from AOG Technics and to replace those.

Engine manufacturers cannot assess the airworthiness of the parts because they do not know about the material, processes and quality controls used to manufacture them.

And at the moment all they can do is to evaluate the validity of the airworthiness documentation that comes with the part to determine if the documentation is authentic. It is good to see they are actively supporting regulators to see into the case to address the root cause of the issue at an early date demonstrating zero-tolerance to any problems that might affect flight safety.

In response to the incident, a spokesperson to CFM International issued a statement to clear the air, which has been found hyped up by some we-media, saying that "We are taking aggressive legal action against AOG Technics to accelerate the industry's ability to identify parts sold by this third-party with falsified documentation."

It is good to see the spokesperson said in the statement that the company remains fully engaged with aviation regulatory authorities to support their investigations into AOG Technics.

And it is to be hoped the aircraft companies can work together with their customers to strengthen their assessment of the authenticity of documentation for parts they acquire directly or indirectly from other parties that have no affiliation with them.