This is all over the news right now.
It could be serious, but I can’t help making some obvious observations:
I’m not sure it’s always counterfeit parts per se but parts where the provenance has been falsified – eg can be pattern parts from marine / power generation certified as having come from aviation production chains or spares that have been recycled from overhaul facilities
at least the company has an appropriate name :)
It’s been making the news for more than a month now:
https://www.thedrive.com/news/supplier-caught-distributing-fake-parts-for-worlds-top-selling-jet-engine
https://www.aviacionline.com/2023/09/british-supplier-aog-technics-under-fire-for-distributing-fake-jet-engine-parts/
edited to add: https://www.faa.gov/aircraft/safety/programs/sups/upn/2023-AAE-EHL-20230801-713
local copy of the FAA notification: FAA_UnapprovedPartsNotification_2023_AAE_EHL_20230801_713_pdf
As Matt says, these are probably real parts but taken from scrapped life-limited stock.
99% of it will probably be perfectly fine. The vast majority of life limits are quite arbitrary.
According to that FAA note, its some kind of bushing for the inlet guide vanes. The part is probably genuine, but the papers are faked. I would think GE use the same bushing for the same application for a wide range of engines.
So who is the bigger scammer – the manufacturer who sells the part for ten times more with aviation paperwork, or the company who sells the exact same part more cheaply with fake paperwork?
Especially as the manufacturer probably obtain their parts from AOG Technics. Different laser printer of course.
