Counterfeit parts in your aircraft?
 

BBC News - China fake parts 'used in US military equipment'

and lots of fake parts from the UK too according to the article.

S-D

The implication being that only fake parts from isolationist America should be used on American aircraft.:rolleyes:

In the civilian world we get alerts to them etc... Many years ago I remember there were some I think Bell 47 rotors that came on the market but were luckily spotted, they were off some other model and had a couple of foot of extra blade simply glued on the end!!!

Similar Note, remember the burnt out BA 747 at Kuwait International, that was all supposed to have been scrapped, indeed BA went to lengths to ensure it was... They got a call from some innocent US company who were looking at buying some fan blades that were been sold as ex BA and they were after details.... Lo and behold they were off the burnt out and supposedly scrapped 747.

Sadly it happens, the USAF has apparently found some of their spares are fakes from China.

US Air Force using counterfeit Chinese parts — RT

http://defensetech.org/2012/05/22/fa...re-everywhere/

i had some C-130 parts stolen, managed to trace them, found where they were sold and who sold them with forged paperwork. you think i could get any of the services or authorities off their asses to do anything ?

nope.

It is self evident that if component obsolescence isn’t managed properly, the chances of this occurring increase. The chances multiply if you have no resident QARs and buy the cheapest spares, regardless of quality.



When the RAF Chief Engineer issued the policy that component obsolescence funding was to be withdrawn altogether ................

You are almost certainly asking those responsible to judge their own case and overturn their own policy. There used to be independent oversight but, you guessed it, this was scrapped as well. These are called defences in depth. Nowadays we skate on very thin ice.

I suspect that what they were getting at was more the small electrical sub-components which are used in building PCBs
The fake capacitors and such like, made by the million and knocked out in Chinese copy shops and almost impossible to ID
Its been a problem in the computer industry for years, despite the QA checks. Event the majors such as IBM, Dell, HP, Intel were caught out (and still are being). I don't see the situation being any different with aircraft electronics: a circuit board may well be a genuine part from whomever, but are the components on it genuine? How do you check? I don't think you can, unless your QA trail can follow the parts source to each individual component, and thats pretty unlikely given the nature in which such parts are traded

In 2004 one company I contracted for found an unmarked Rotor Head for a Bell 206 - No Pt No. and no Ser No. - trouble was that it flew in with quite some hours on it! After quite some searching to find anyone that could "own" it, it was eventually reported to the CAA (MOR) and "properly" scrapped.

I myself unpacked a Huey Cockpit Door Hinge to find that it was perfectly made but made of Brass instead of Aluminuiuiuium Alloy. But as it was military stock - just demanded another one!

Bogus parts have always been a heavy game. Mainly the problem is of ex-military parts (especially engine parts) making it on to the civil market. Less certification costs and less stores accountability/security makes for more profit.

It is said (by whom?) that fake parts manufacture increased during and after the Vietnamese wars - probably where my Brass Hinge came from.

I have to agree about the control of "scrap" from miltary stocks - not quite poor, but really awful and a disgrace to aviation legislation. What the RN used to call "cum-in-andy" scrap control, I believe.

Even I remember robbing gate guardians of Jet Pipes- and that was Harrier's in 1999! (Bung a 731 on 'em and get 'em fitted)