CF6: Counterfeit parts are also found in Airbus A330 engines

Until now it was only about one type of engine. British company AOG Technics used fake documents to distribute counterfeit parts for CFM56 engines on Boeing 737 and Airbus A320 aircraft. United, Southwest and Virgin Australia have so far found such parts.

but this is not all. This appears in a letter from the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) dated September 21, cited by the magazine Aviation Week mentioned. Accordingly, the bushings found in the inlet vane cover bushings fairing of GE’s CF6 engines are also part of the AOG counterfeiting scandal.

CF6 in various models of Airbus and Boeing aircraft

The CF6 is used on the Airbus A300 (also Beluga ST), A310, A330-200 and -300, Boeing 767-300 and 747-400, among others. According to the FAA, parts for this type of engine were the first to be noticed through documents forged by AOG.

The maintenance department of Portuguese airline Tap — which operates Airbus A330-200 planes — notified GE Aerospace of suspected unauthorized parts in late July, the magazine reported, citing a court document related to a recent lawsuit against AOG. Hundreds of affected CF6 parts subsequently turned up during the inspection. The number of CFM56 parts affected is said to be much greater.

Errors have been observed in forged documents

All this was noticeable due to inconsistencies in the text. The CF6 portion was referred to only as the “bushing” in the fake FAA documents, where the original refers to the “bushing piece (IGV).” Elsewhere, part of the text was missing from the fake document. Other areas were not grayed out as in the original.

GE Aerospace is a subsidiary of General Electric. In the joint venture CFM International works with the French company Safran.