Aerospace leaders in the United States and Europe have joined forces to establish a coalition aimed at preventing unauthorized parts from entering the global supply chain in an effort to improve its overall integrity.
The newly formed group, Aviation Supply Chain Integrity Coalition, was announced in a Feb. 22 press release and includes senior representatives from American Airlines, Delta Air Lines, Safran, StandardAero and United Airlines. Additionally, former National Transportation Safety Board Chairman Robert Sumwalt and former U.S. Transportation Deputy Secretary John Porcari will serve as coalition co-chairs.
The coalition’s establishment follows a high-profile investigation into U.K.-based parts distributor AOG Technics after the company was accused of being involved in a counterfeit parts scheme. According to the European Aviation Safety Authority (EASA), AOG Technics forged at least 70 Authorised Release Certificates covering some 50 parts for CFM56 engines that power the Boeing 737NG, Airbus A320 and several other types.
“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,” said co-chair Robert Sumwalt.
The coalition says it has initiated a 90-day assessment to explore potential actions to strengthen the supply chain. The group says it will release a comprehensive report with recommendations aimed at upholding safety regulations later this year.
But then what will happen to eBay? 🤷
An authorized part in and of itself does not mean a better quality part. (Particularly if made by Boeing). An unauthorized part could in fact be of better physical quality than an authorized part.
The real difference is that folks issuing legitimate authorizations will be able to charge much much more for the part. Is this new coalition perhaps more about being able to make more money for the authorized parts suppliers than it is about keeping unauthorized parts from driving down parts prices? Clothed in the name of safety?
Shades of the old Huey/Bell parts concern which was a problem after Vietnam. When I was an A&P at PHI in the late ’80’s there was a problem with some Bell parts because the US left a lot of these aircraft there after 1973. Wonder if this consortium will really have any meaningful effect upon this situation.