UK firm sold thousands of unverified jet engine parts: CFM

LONDON: Jet engine maker CFM International said on Wednesday thousands of engine components may have been sold with forged paperwork by a British distributor, as the fallout from a probe into falsely certified parts reached London's High Court.

Matthew Reeve, a lawyer for CFM and its co-owners General Electric (GE.N) and Safran (SAF.PA), said AOG Technics had engaged in a "deliberate, dishonest and sophisticated scheme to deceive the market with falsified documents on an industrial scale".

European regulators have said they are investigating reports that some parts supplied by the London-based firm without valid certificates had been found inside CFM56 engines, which power some Airbus and Boeing jets.

AOG did not address the underlying claim of forgery in the hearing, which was called to discuss procedural issues. The company did not immediately respond to a request for comment on its main number, which went to hold then voicemail.

The discovery has prompted airlines to change parts on a handful of planes and so far only a fraction of the 23,000 existing CFM56 engines has been affected.

But Reeve said in court filings that CFM and its engine partners have "compelling documentary evidence that thousands of jet engine parts have been sold by (AOG) to airlines operating commercial aircraft fitted with the claimants' jet engines".