Aircraft engines with parts with “falsified” certificates sold to several manufacturers

Aircraft engine maker CFM has warned its customers about parts whose certification documents have been “falsified” by the supplier, a joint venture between Safran and GE told us Monday.

The respective engines are of the CFM56 type and are used in both the Airbus A320 and the Boeing 737 NG, two generations of narrow-bodied medium-haul aircraft now replaced by the A320neo and 737 MAX, respectively. In particular, they use CFM’s new generation “Leap” reactors, which are not covered by the warning.

34,000 CFM56 vehicles produced.

No details on the number of potentially affected engines have been released, Bloomberg notes. CFM56 was released in 34,000 copies. For its part, the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA), according to CFM, launched an investigation into the British company AOG Technics, suspected of distributing “unapproved parts” to repair shops.

“Some CFM56 engine parts distributed by AOG Technics were supplied with falsified certificates,” certification bodies were quoted as saying that the relevant documents “do not come from their organization,” EASA said in a press release issued last month. AOG Technics representatives contacted by AFP did not return phone calls at their London headquarters on Monday at noon. His website was also down.

If the parts are already installed, the agency recommends replacing them.

“We fully support the regulatory investigation into falsified certification documents accompanying parts sold by AOG Technics,” a CFM spokesperson said in a statement. The Franco-American company emphasized that it has no connection with AOG Technics either directly or through its parent companies. “We have taken the initiative to alert our customers and service centers and continue to work with our customers to evaluate the authenticity of documents for parts received directly or indirectly from AOG Technics,” the same source said.

EASA required aircraft owners or operators and maintenance organizations to “check their records to determine if any aircraft or engine parts were sourced from AOG Technics, directly or indirectly” and verify the authenticity of their certificates.

In the case of proven interference, “any relevant detail should be set aside to prevent its installation,” EASA added. If parts are already installed, the agency recommends replacing them with approved parts.