Delta Air Lines says some aircraft flew with uncertified engine parts

BLOOMBERG

Delta Air Lines Inc says some of its aircraft have flown with engines using improperly documented components, a disclosure indicating the extent to which parts linked to a British distributor have been sold globally.
Suspect components were found on only one engine of the planes that were flown, a company spokesman said, declining to quantify exactly how many aircraft and engines were impacted.
The information comes from a new assessment of Delta’s ongoing internal investigation into the uncertified parts. Delta and several other carriers have revealed that engines in their fleet used parts distributed by AOG Technics Ltd, a London-based company at the centre of probes by regulators into components sold with falsified airworthiness records. The uncertified components were used in a popular type of jet engine made by CFM International Inc, a joint venture of General Electric Co and Safran SA.
The FAA warned US airlines and others in the industry about AOG parts sold with forged airworthiness documentation, following a similar earlier alert by European regulators. Those actions triggered a worldwide search of records to hunt down the AOG-supplied components, which regulators said should be removed from engines immediately. Safran has said it was alerted originally by a European aircraft maintenance provider, who inquired about a part that looked to have a suspicious origin.
American Airlines Group  Southwest Airlines Co and United Airlines all have found the suspect components on engines, along with Virgin Australia Airlines Pty.
Delta has declined to say what type of AOG-documented parts it discovered. The “small number” of engines involved account for less than 1% of the more than 2,100 power plants on its mainline fleet, a spokesperson said.