Bogus aircraft parts

…and damaged airline personnel

It takes an incredible amount of coordination to keep an airline running profitably, efficiently, and on time. In my 33 years of piloting experience in the airline industry, I was always amazed at how everything seemed to come together, and we were able to push back off the gate mostly on time. From servicing of the lavatories, potable water, fueling, oil service, hydraulic fluid checks, supplemental oxygen, catering, cabin cleaning between flights, boarding passengers and dealing with duplicate seat assignments (which never happened before computers got involved), luggage, weight and balance calculations, getting revised ATC clearance around weather, dealing with minor mechanical issues, and tracking the hours of crew members to make sure they are compliant with Federal Aviation Regulations (FARs) to legally operate the flight…somehow it mostly worked.

When things start falling apart, not only is the scheduling affected, but safety can start to break down as well. Recently a scam was uncovered where substandard aircraft parts were distributed and installed into passenger jet aircraft engines. https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-12595495/airlines-ground-planes-engine-parts-fake-safety-certificates.html

With the amount of regulation in the airline industry, one wonders how this could possibly happen. Obviously, the manufacturing and quality of aircraft parts are critical to airline safety. The manufacturer and the parts must meet TSO (Technical Standard Order) specifications described in FAR part 21. What happened was, there was a failure in the distribution process where documents were forged and substandard or refurbished used parts got purchased and installed in passenger jet aircraft. This is important because some aircraft parts are so critical that they are “life-limited”, meaning they get replaced with brand new ones after a certain amount of flight hours whether they appear to be worn out or not. The FAA will react to this failure by increasing the scrutiny of paper trails involving parts distribution. All to protect the safety of the traveling public.

The scam was discovered when a mechanic/technician found a part that was supposed to be new, but it did not look new. This prompted an investigation and so far, at least 126 individual passenger jets have been affected. When something like this happens, the FAA looks for safety signals such as an uptick in engine failures or other mechanical failures. If there is a safety signal, all aircraft suspected of being affected are immediately grounded for inspections and defective part replacement. If the problem is widespread, you will notice it as an airline customer because flights will get cancelled. If only a few aircraft are affected, you won’t even notice it.

So far, the system is working to keep you safe. Aircraft are being inspected and substandard parts are being replaced. Fortunately, there has been no safety signal of increased engine failures or other mechanical failures, and the FAA has taken appropriate action to prevent a disaster.

However, earlier this year, the FAA did notice a safety signal that has nothing to do with aircraft parts, but personnel instead. The signal was a significant uptick in aircraft incursions (planes getting too close to each other on the ground or in the air). In response, a Safety Alert For Operators (SAFO) was issued on March 22, 2023.  Here is the SAFO: https://www.faa.gov/about/initiatives/saso/safo-23002-aviation-safety-call-action

Unfortunately, the FAA has not adequately addressed this issue. In fact, in a follow-up review of FAA reports and a NASA database, a New York Times investigation found there were at least 46 close calls involving commercial air flights in July. And runway incursions that could lead to accidents are up 25 percent higher than a decade ago. https://www.pbs.org/newshour/show/whats-behind-the-alarming-rise-in-near-collisions-of-commercial-airplanes

Some experts blame the uptick on staffing shortages, overworked crewmembers, and limitations in technology to keep up with increased air traffic.

But something else could be going on here, tied to the covid-19 shots that crewmembers and air traffic controllers were either mandated or coerced into getting. One of the known adverse effects of all the covid-19 shots is micro-clotting. Micro-clotting diminishes the amount of oxygen and nutrients that reach tissue cells, including brain cells. The symptoms of this can happen shortly after the shot was administered, or even months or years later. Here’s a link to a 51-minute video of doctors and patients discussing it:

The symptoms can be transient and include brain fog, decreased reaction times, blurred vision, or loss of certain fields of vision. The problem is, the symptoms are subjective, meaning that a person experiencing these things could tell you there is nothing wrong with them and there is no way to prove they are hiding the symptoms.

However, micro-clotting can be detected with certain tests, and can be treated and reversed. Micro-clotting is objective, meaning it can be seen and measured. Micro-clotting does not always result in subjective symptoms, but the potential for symptoms to arise is present.

It would be prudent for the FAA to provide some guidance to Aviation Medical Examiners (AMEs) to begin tracking the history of covid-19 shots, and to test for and suggest treatment regimens for micro-clotting. This action will not ground crewmembers and bring the airline industry to a grinding halt. But it could prevent a future disaster. All to protect the safety of the traveling public.