FAA investigates how counterfeit parts got into Boeing planes

US regulators are currently investigating how titanium parts sold with fake quality documents ended up in Boeing and Airbus passenger aircraft from recent years.

Boeing and Airbus said Friday that the planes with the affected parts were safe to fly. However, Boeing said the affected parts would be removed from planes that had not yet been delivered to airlines.

It is up to regulators, including the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), to decide whether work needs to be done on aircraft that are already carrying passengers.

The FAA said it was “investigating the scope and impact of the problem.” Boeing reported the problem in relation to material from a distributor “who may have falsified or provided false documentation.” The FAA did not name the distributor.

Boeing and Airbus declined to disclose how many aircraft are flying with parts made of the undocumented titanium.

Spirit AeroSystems, which makes fuselages for Boeing aircraft and wings for Airbus jets, reported the forged documents.

“This is about titanium that entered the supply system via falsified documents,” said Joe Buccino, Spirit spokesman. “When this was discovered, all suspect parts were quarantined and removed from Spirit production.”

Buccino said more than 1,000 tests had been conducted on the material “to ensure continued flightworthiness.”

The New York Times was the first to report on the FAA’s investigation. The newspaper said a parts supplier had found small holes in the material caused by corrosion.

The aerospace industry’s supply chain is global. The titanium came from a supplier in China starting in about 2019 and was sold to several companies that make components Spirit Aerosystems uses in its work for Boeing and Airbus, according to two people familiar with the situation. They spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity to discuss the ongoing investigation.

The New York Times reported that an Italian company, Titanium International Group, noticed that the material looked different from previous shipments and that the paperwork accompanying the titanium did not appear to be authentic. An executive told the newspaper that the company was cooperating with authorities and could not provide any further information.

The documentation, called a declaration of conformity, describes the part or material, how it was manufactured, and where it came from. It is intended to ensure that the parts meet FAA quality standards.

Titanium alloys have been used in aircraft construction for decades due to their light weight, strength, and resistance to corrosion and temperature. They are used in airframes, landing gear, and other parts.

Boeing said tests showed the parts were made from the correct titanium alloy, raising questions about why the documentation was falsified. The Arlington, Virginia-based company said it buys most of the titanium it uses directly from other sources and that supplies were not affected by the documentation issue.

Boeing said affected parts would be removed from planes before they were delivered to airlines. “Our analysis shows that the in-service fleet can continue to fly safely,” the company said. However, it did not provide information on which of its aircraft models were affected.

Airbus said the parts landed in one of its models, the A220, a relatively small commercial aircraft used on shorter routes.

“Numerous tests have been carried out using parts from the same source,” said Airbus, whose headquarters and assembly plant are in France. “They show that the A220 remains airworthy.”

Officials said the affected parts could be replaced as part of the aircraft’s scheduled maintenance. Whether airlines will be required to replace the parts sooner is now up to the FAA and its European counterpart.