Unapproved aircraft part

Lore & Background

The crash of Partnair Flight 394 in 1989 resulted from the installation of counterfeit aircraft parts. Counterfeit bolts attaching the vertical stabilizer of a Convair CV-580 to the fuselage wore down excessively, allowing the tail to vibrate until it broke off. In 1990, US President George H. W. Bush appointed Mary Schiavo as the Inspector General of the U.S. Department of Transportation, who began campaigns to curb the sale of unapproved parts. By 1996, investigations resulted in hundreds of criminal convictions, restitution, fines totalling about US$47 million, and prison sentences of up to five years.

In August 1993, a group of criminals stole a cockpit computer from a Carnival Airlines aircraft at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport. The criminals contacted potential buyers at John F. Kennedy International Airport, who were actually FBI agents performing 'Operation Skycrook.' In 1995, after the crash of American Airlines Flight 965, scavengers took cockpit avionics, engine thrust reversers, and other parts from the crash site by helicopter; many appeared for sale in the Greater Miami area. An FAA study concluded that from May 1973 to April 1996, unapproved parts contributed to 174 aircraft accidents and minor incidents, causing 39 injuries and 17 fatalities, none involving major commercial airlines. Critics argued the FAA may have understated the role of unapproved parts.

The United States Congress passed the Aircraft Safety Act of 2000, allowing the government to target the sale and use of unapproved parts. Around 2003, the U.S. state of Florida was an international center for the vending of unapproved aircraft parts. Old and faulty parts scavenged from scrapped aircraft were sold illegally as new parts in Italy from the late 1990s, and were reported in 2002 to be possibly linked to up to ten air crashes. In the United Kingdom, between 2019 and 2023, a company called AOG Technics supplied an estimated 60,000 parts for CFM56 engines with forged documents; the director pleaded guilty to fraudulent trading and in February 2026 was sentenced to 56 months imprisonment.

Reader's Guide

Unapproved aircraft parts represent a persistent safety threat in aviation, as documented by multiple incidents and regulatory responses. The FAA defines approved parts through standards such as Parts Manufacturer Approval, type certification, Technical Standard Orders, and conformance to recognized industry specifications. Parts manufactured without such approval are considered unapproved, encompassing counterfeits, time-expired life-limited parts, stolen items, fraudulent labels, production overruns sold without permission, and untraceable components. Boeing has stated that mechanical parts (bolts, nuts, rivets), electronic parts (resistors, capacitors, integrated circuits), and materials (composite chemicals, steel, titanium) have been counterfeited. The 1989 crash of Partnair Flight 394 directly resulted from counterfeit bolts. An FAA study covering May 1973 to April 1996 attributed 174 accidents and incidents to unapproved parts, causing 39 injuries and 17 fatalities, though critics argued the numbers were understated. The Aircraft Safety Act of 2000 targeted the sale and use of such parts. Between 2010 and 2016, about 24 crashes involving unapproved parts killed seven people and injured 18. The AOG Technics case in the UK, involving 60,000 forged-document parts for CFM56 engines, led to a 56-month prison sentence in 2026. The article notes that many other industries face counterfeit parts, but the consequences in aviation are far more serious.

Did You Know?

• The crash of Partnair Flight 394 in 1989 was caused by counterfeit bolts that wore down excessively, causing the tail to break off.
• In August 1993, FBI agents posing as buyers in 'Operation Skycrook' caught criminals who had stolen a cockpit computer from a Carnival Airlines aircraft.
• An FAA study from May 1973 to April 1996 found unapproved parts contributed to 174 accidents and incidents, causing 39 injuries and 17 fatalities, none involving major commercial airlines.
• Between 2019 and 2023, AOG Technics supplied about 60,000 parts for CFM56 engines with forged documents; the director was sentenced to 56 months imprisonment in February 2026.