The presence of SUPs (Suspected Unapproved Parts) is no longer just a maintenance headache—it is a catastrophic financial and legal “trap” that can ground an entire fleet and bankrupt a company overnight.The AOG Technics Scandal became a global case study.
The most critical landmark case is the AOG Technics fraud, which concluded in the UK’s Southwark Crown Court on December 1, 2025.The director, Jose Alejandro Zamora Yrala, pleaded guilty to fraudulent trading after a two-year international investigation by the SFO (Serious Fraud Office) and the CAA (Civil Aviation Authority).F
rom 2019 to 2023, AOG Technics sold thousands of parts for the CFM56 engine—the world’s most common passenger jet engine—using forged EASA Form 1 and FAA 8130-3 certificates.
Over 180 engines were identified as containing these fake parts with major global carriers, including United, Southwest, Ryanair, and Virgin Australia, were forced to ground aircraft immediately to strip engines and remove the components.
The director is scheduled for sentencing on February 23, 2026, where he faces up to 10 years in prison.
The scale of infiltration was such that the FAA and EASA confirm that the infiltration of bogus parts is not a rare occurrence but a systemic risk.
Approximately 2% of the global parts supply (roughly 520,000 parts annually) consists of unapproved or counterfeit components.
While legitimate PMA (Parts Manufacturer Approval) parts are legally sold for 30–70% less than OEM parts, counterfeiters price their goods slightly below the PMA rate to avoid suspicion.Strict Liability and “Failure to Prevent”If a bogus part causes an incident, the airline and its directors are liable because they failed to have Adequate Procedures (Governance) to catch the fraud.
An aircraft parts valuation is tied to its Back-to-Birth (BtB) traceability when a part such as many engine components are limited but life.
If a part’s history is broken or forged, the value is adversely affected.Regulators can pull an airline’s Air Operator Certificate if they find a pattern of buying from unverified vendors and without an AOC, the business cannot legally fly a single plane.
The future of this industry is moving toward the German/EU model of heavy financial penalties.
Customs and border agencies now have the power to seize “suspect” parts, turning a multi-million-dollar shipment into a total loss.
If an incident occurs and a bogus part is found, insurance providers will often void the policy, leaving the airline’s directors personally liable for billions in damages.
The discovery of one bogus part triggers a mandatory audit of every other serialized component, this “AOG” (Aircraft on Ground) status costs an airline hundreds of thousands of dollars per day in lost revenue.
If a supplier offers a deal that requires ignoring standard employment requirements or skipping trace documentation, it is a Stranded Asset Risk.
The rules exist to protect all parties from a relationship that could end in jail time, large fines, or the total loss of the aircraft asset.
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