AOG Technics, the UK-based broker accused of selling thousands of engine parts with falsified paperwork, has been ordered to turn over records of its GE Aerospace-related transactions, a London court ordered. 

The London High Court ruling, issued during a Sept. 20 hearing gives the company 14 days to hand over details on any CFM56 and CF6 parts it acquired and sold, along with relevant supporting documentation. The ruling came in response to a lawsuit filed Sept. 7 by CFM and its co-owners, GE Aerospace and Safran against AOG Technics and founder Jose Zamora Yrala. 

A summary of the manufacturer’s argument before the court confirms that falsified airworthiness approval tags and other relevant records have been linked to thousands of parts sold by AOG Technics. The probe has turned up 86 examples of forged documents, some covering many parts. 

In one case, the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) turned over one of its AAC-038 approval tags, later confirmed as fake, that came with 32 overhauled CFM56 high pressure compressor (HPC) stage 1 vanes. Two fake FAA 8130-3s covering hundreds of GE CF6 parts were found, the summary said. More than 80 EASA Form 1s representing thousands of CFM56 parts, including turbine blades and seals, have been flagged and confirmed as forgeries. 

In all cases, the fake documentation was made to look like it came from CFM or one of its owners. 

So far, no life-limited parts have been flagged in the probe.  
AOG Technics parts have been found on 96 engines so far—a figure that is likely to grow given the number of parts confirmed to have fake records. 

Gaining insight on AOG Technics’ transactions will help the industry quantify the scope and risk of its scheme. Knowing who it sold parts to will aid CFM, operators, maintenance providers and regulators in their effort to confirm whether they are airworthy and isolate any questionable parts. Learning where AOG Technics got the material is just as critical, as it will help quantify the hazard level the parts present. 

“We applaud the court’s ruling compelling AOG Technics to release documentation that will aid the industry in more rapidly identifying parts sold with fraudulent documentation so they can be promptly addressed,” CFM said in a statement. “Safety is our first priority, and we are taking aggressive legal action against AOG Technics for selling unapproved aircraft engine parts with falsified airworthiness documentation. We remain united with the aviation community in working to keep unapproved parts out of the global supply chain.” 

Several airlines have confirmed having AOG Technics parts on their engines, including Southwest Airlines, United Airlines and Virgin Australia. Bloomberg was first to report the airlines involved. 

CFM and its co-owners, GE Aerospace and Safran, have been working with industry since June to flag parts sold by AOG Technics with falsified records, the court briefing revealed. TAP Maintenance and Engineering flagged EASA Form 1s linked to “certain” CFM56 parts and allegedly generated by CFM.  

The engine manufacturer confirmed the records were false, highlighting fake purchase-order numbers and an unknown signature. 

TAP then turned over 24 more Form 1s shipped with CFM56 parts bought by AOG Technics and allegedly generated by the manufacturer. These were forged as well, CFM concluded. 

The findings prompted CFM to alert industry and regulators, kicking off a global records review to find parts sold by AOG Technics and either pull them from service or remove them from spare parts supplies if related documentation was determined to be fake. 

An early August European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) bulletin urged operators and repair stations to review their records, flag any parts in their possession that passed through AOG Technics, and verify whether airworthiness approval tags were generated by the companies listed on them. Parts with falsified records should be quarantined, EASA said. EASA later confirmed the discovery of many forged documents. 

The UK Civil Aviation Administration (CAA) issued a similar bulletin, noting that “some” AOG Technics parts were installed on UK-registered aircraft.  

The FAA confirmed it is working with its European counterparts on the issue. 

“The FAA is investigating the issue and is coordinating closely with the European Aviation Safety Agency and the UK Civil Aviation Authority,” the agency said. “The FAA takes suspected unapproved parts cases very seriously and takes action as necessary for safety.”