Originally Posted by
tonkaplonka
Traceability is an intrinsic part of aircraft maintenance. A large component such as the flapperon should be easily traceable. For your information, all components from split pins to the largest components can be traced and should be recorded by batch number and also approved with the relevant EASA Form 1 FAA 8320 attached before any component is fitted.
You're missing the point.
Yes, the provenance of a part that's about to be fitted to an aircraft should be known, by either a serial number or by tracing consumables or AGS to a specific batch. If the aircraft is involved in an accident or incident, the history of any relevant components is known.
But the problem investigators are faced with here is the other way round. Given a piece part that has come from the flaperon, that has in turn come from an unknown aircraft, the issue is whether any identifying feature(s) can be found that would allow correlation with 9M-MRO's maintenance or build records.
Good luck finding a serial number on your split-pin.