Aviation industry urges steps to prevent unapproved parts from airplane use

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By David Shepardson

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -A report issued by an aviation industry coalition on Wednesday called for new steps to help prevent future unapproved parts from entering the aviation supply chain.

The report from the Aviation Supply Chain Integrity Coalition that was created in February called for strengthening vendor accreditation, digitizing documents and improving part traceability. It also proposed adopting best practices for receiving and inspecting parts and scrapping and destroying non-usable material.

In 2023, jet engine maker CFM International, co-owned by GE Aerospace and France’s Safran, said thousands of engine components may have been sold with forged paperwork by British distributor AOG Technics.

In December, British police made an arrest and launched a probe into allegations that the London-based firm had distributed fake parts for aircraft engines.

“These recommendations will close holes and add new layers of safety to strengthen the integrity of the supply chain,” said former National Transportation Safety Board chair Robert Sumwalt, one of the group’s co-chairs.

“We were able to stop a rogue actor and quarantine the parts last year thanks to swift action from the aviation industry, but more is needed to stop anyone who tries to take a shortcut in the future.” GE Aerospace led the formation of the Aviation Supply Chain group that includes Boeing, Airbus, Safran, American Airlines, Delta Air Lines and United Airlines. The report said that less than 1% of CFM engines in service were affected by the issue but said the incident “showed more needed to be done.” The issue impacted a small number of CFM56 models, the world’s most-sold passenger jet engine.

(Reporting by David Shepardson; Editing by Chris Reese and Aurora Ellis)