Originally Posted by
AvionicsHippo
This is mental, with all the regulations in place and P/N and S/N and accompanying documents, I cannot see how someone has got away with it.
I know the paperwork is counterfeit but how would someone would go about the manufacture of fake components is unbelievable.
What's unbelievable about people making parts that look like the original but without bothering to go through the necessary testing/approvals?
Internal engine parts are seriously expensive - in no small part because of all that has to be done to get the parts approved is expensive.
So creating 'look alike' parts - which may or may not be functionally equivalent to the originals - then instead of spending hundreds of thousands of dollars doing a proper approval and instead spending a few pennies on counterfeit 'approval' paperwork is quite appealing to the less than scrupulous... Popular engines like the CFM56 (literally thousands in daily operation) need lots of spares - and 'aftermarket' parts can be far cheaper than the OEM parts. Not sure if it's still happening, but Pratt & Whitney was producing PMA replacement turbine blades for the CFM56 engine due to huge market for them (and Pratt had the excess facilities just sitting unused).
Even when the parts manufacturer goes through the proper PMA process (Parts Manufacturing Authority - if memory serves), there is some risk involved that the parts may not perform like the originals. I recall a big recall of CFM56-7 (737NG) PMA fuel filters because - although they'd gone through the official PMA process - they had a nasty habit of disintegrating in service (which played havoc with the fuel control and cause a few shutdowns).