After revealing the existence of fake spare parts provided for the maintenance of CFM-56 enginesthe agency Bloomberg News reports that the supplier in question, the British company AOG Technicsalso falsified the profile of its employees.
To support this theory, Bloomberg News refers in particular to LinkedIn profiles of senior executives at AOG Technics, as well as their rather obscure career paths. The investigation targets Ray Kwong, sales director of aircraft parts supplier AOG Technics Ltd. On paper, this man can boast a long career with leading companies, including All Nippon Airways and Nissan Motor Co. At least that is what is written on his LinkedIn profile.
Problem, the profile of this man would be falsified. Indeed, although Ray Kwong really exists, he would never have worked for these two Japanese companies, the latter not having any file concerning him. Another example, Johnny Rico, executive sales representative: on LinkedIn, he claims to have worked for the low-cost Ryanair. However, his profile photo would also appear… on the website of a dentist’s office.
The affair of falsely certified parts for CFM-56 engines continues to shake the aviation sector. These engines equip the Airbus A320 and the Boeing 737 NG, two generations of single-aisle medium-haul aircraft now replaced, respectively, by the A320neo and 737 MAX. These notably use new generation Leap reactors from CFM, which are not affected by the alert. Engine manufacturer CFM International, a joint venture between GE Aerospace and Safran, has confirmed that falsely certified components were fitted to 68 of its CFM-56 engines.
