Major U.S. airlines, including American Airlines, United Airlines, Southwest Airlines, and Delta Airlines, are grounding planes amid concerns over the authenticity of engine parts’ safety certificates, according to a report by the Daily Mail.

AOG Technics, the firm that sold the parts in question, is under scrutiny by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and European investigators for allegedly furnishing fraudulent safety certificates. It also appears that the company may not actually exist at all, and is being run by a sophisticated scammer. Bloomberg highlighted that AOG Technics seemingly fabricated supposed employees using stock images on LinkedIn.

To date, the FAA, in collaboration with European agencies, has identified AOG-supplied parts in 126 engines across various airlines. The most impacted are CFM56 engines, commonly used in both 737 MAX and Airbus A320 aircraft—planes that are instrumental in global flight operations.

The discovery has potential severe repercussions for both the airline sector and its regulators, who are tasked with enforcing rigorous safety standards to ensure all aircraft components, especially those within the engine, are fit for flight.

Reports from the Mirror indicate that the dubious parts range from basic screws and bolts to critical turbine blades. Notably, many of these components seem to originate from industry giants General Electric and Safran, both of which are now taking legal action against AOG Technics.

Safran CEO Olivier Andriès expressed his bewilderment in September, stating, “It’s a bit strange that a phantom company can be allowed to supply spare parts with false certification documents.”

The legal complaint filed by General Electric and Safran alleges that the issue first surfaced in June, thanks to the vigilance of the engineering and maintenance teams at TAP Air Portugal. The

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