A scandal is unfurling in the aviation world. It involves a shadowy company, called AOG Technics. The aviation company sells counterfeit aircraft parts, is run by non-existent employees, and has a glorified P.O. box for an address.

Over the last 18 months post-pandemic "revenge travel" went global. And the airlines have experienced consecutive summers marred by frequent flight delays and cancellations.

 Despite successful negotiations of new pilot union contracts by American Airlines and United, the increasing problem of faulty parts now threatens to compound delays.

Regulators, airlines, and parts suppliers worldwide are in a frenzied race to trace potentially bogus components as the AOG Technics scandal spreads from the United States to Australia.

In early September Southwest Airlines initiated a wave of disclosures across the global aviation community when it revealed it had discovered unregistered parts supplied by AOG Technics.

American Airlines recently became the fourth and latest airline to uncover components from London-based AOG Technics, within its aircraft. 

According to American Airlines, they detected "uncertified components on a small number of aircraft." Southwest Airlines confirmed that one of their engines contained two parts linked to AOG Technics.

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About AOG Technics

AOG Technics, the UK-based broker accused of selling thousands of engine parts with falsified paperwork has been ordered to turn over records of its GE Aerospace-related transactions, a London court ordered. 

Aviation Week reported that the London High Court ruling, issued during a Sept. 20 hearing gives the company 14 days to hand over details on any CFM56 and CF6 parts it acquired and sold, along with relevant supporting documentation.

 The ruling came in response to a lawsuit filed Sept. 7 by CFM and its co-owners, GE Aerospace and Safran against AOG Technics and founder Jose Zamora Yrala. 

AOG Technics stands accused of fabricating documents and shipping suspect parts to airline maintenance shops across the globe. Firms like AOG serve as intermediaries supplying parts to independent firms contracted by airlines for aircraft repairs.

 The counterfeit parts in question were used to repair jet engines produced by CFM International, a partnership between GE and the French firm Safran. These parts are mostly used in older models of Airbus and Boeing aircraft engines.

CFM sues AOG

CFM International has initiated legal action against AOG Technics in London's High Court to access documentation that could unveil the scale of the fraud, facilitating the tracking of counterfeit parts. Thus far, CFM believes that AOG Technics may have distributed thousands of parts with fraudulent documentation.

In the aviation industry, meticulous documentation accompanies every aircraft part to ensure traceability and quality. A single flawed component could have catastrophic safety implications.

The engine manufacturer CFM became aware of the problem in June when a Portuguese repair shop alerted them to allegedly forged documents bearing their name.

 By August, the UK's Civil Aviation Authority had issued a safety notice, acknowledging its investigation into the supply of numerous "Suspect Unapproved Parts" originating from AOG Technics. Airlines and maintenance facilities that had acquired parts from AOG Technics were urged to verify their authenticity.

Europe's aviation regulator, the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA), concurrently released a statement confirming the forgery of documents to make it appear as if AOG Technics' parts were sourced from legitimate manufacturers.

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) recently issued a notice about AOG Technics' fraudulent parts scheme, joining the growing list of concerned regulators.

The Deep Fake of Aviation Parts

Robert Mann, president of the airline industry consulting firm R.W. Mann and Company, characterized AOG Technics as a "deep fake" company in the gray market of airplane parts.

 While gray market products are typically components that are certified or repairable but fail to meet certain requirements, black market dealings can involve the sale of military technology to countries under international sanctions.

Mann expressed concern over the sophisticated customers who should have thoroughly vetted the supplier but were nonetheless deceived, potentially jeopardizing the safety of passengers, employees, and aircraft.

As of the latest update, the EASA reported that there have been no reported problems resulting from the unapproved parts.

AOG Technics is a deep fake company

Public filings in the UK reveal that AOG Technics was founded by Jose Alejandro Zamora Yrala in 2015. Besides allegedly fabricating documents for aircraft parts, AOG Technics is accused of creating several fictitious LinkedIn profiles, purporting to be company executives.

Further investigations into Yrala's filings expose his involvement in two other UK companies: Kensho Group LTD, a real estate company, and Sunwave Solutions, an e-commerce vendor. 

Kensho folded in January 2023, and Sunwave Solutions appears to remain operational. A close examination of Yrala's filings reveals a trail of typos and shifting corporate addresses, some leading to coworking spaces in London and the offices of a retired accountant in West Sussex.

AOG Technics' website and LinkedIn profile are now inactive, and Google lists the company as "permanently closed." Lawyers representing Yrala and AOG have affirmed their full cooperation with the investigation opened by the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA).

Airlines Impacted by the Fake Parts

Southwest Airlines led the disclosures, revealing its detection of uncertified parts linked to AOG in its aircraft. Virgin Australia followed suit, uncovering turbine blades and nozzles with forged documents in their planes. 

United Airlines became the third carrier to identify counterfeit parts in its airplanes, leading to maintenance and replacement efforts.

American Airlines pledged to collaborate with suppliers and the FAA to ensure that these parts no longer pose a risk to its aircraft.

The global aviation industry now faces a herculean task of rooting out potentially dangerous counterfeit parts, while the scandal continues to baffle and alarm both industry insiders and passengers alike.