Surprising SUP criminal case-sign that it’s time for refreshing your staff’s expertise???
This 37 year old, former DJ, was able to create documentation that was authenticate enough to fool:
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- Delta Air Lines
- American Airlines
- United Airlines
- Southwest Airlines
- Ryanair
- TAP Air Portugal
- WestJet
- Virgin Australia
- TUI
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His fraud resulted in an estimated 126 aircraft being grounded due to unairworthy CFM 56 non-serialized items such as bolts, nuts, washers, seals, and bushings on the airlines’ Boeing 737 and Airbus A320.
These are safety sensitive parts being installed by highly sophisticated airlines with highly regarded part purchasing and quality control organizations. The maleficent actor is not some seasoned, large, technically advanced organization; there is no evidence of some foreign government supporting their document reproduction. The leader of this criminal enterprise previous work history included DJ jobs.
The ease by which AOG Technics was able to put bogus parts in these airlines inventory evidences the NEED for all carriers, repair stations and parts brokers to increase their QA,QC, purchasing staff’s acumen in interdicting parts with extremely real-looking documentation.
One effective option for training your parts team is the Suspected Unapproved Parts Training – Inspection Authorization (IA) renewal.
- SUP Environment and History
2. Why should we be concerned about unapproved parts?
3. Cost and impact of installing SUPs
4. Parts Approval Processes Roles and Responsibilities
5. Receiving Inspections and how unapproved parts enter the system
6. Determining the status of parts and part substantiation
7. Determining airworthiness of parts Involved In accidents
8. Part Marking Requirements; new and used parts with updated materials
9. Fabrication of parts during maintenance
10. Military surplus parts and products
11. Civil and Legal Impact of producing, selling, certificating, or installing Unapproved Parts (Aircraft Safety Act of 2000)
12. What is being done to address SUPs problem?
13. Reporting a SUP and interfacing with the FAA
14. Setting up a SUP program and actions that you can take
Teaching resources :
- Training material available online
- Exercises and self-assessment MCQs available on the site
- Asynchronous remote tutoring is available by e-mail in the event of particular learning difficulties
The 10 hour online course imparts extensive real-world experience, knowledge and recommendations to course participants to enable them to more successfully recognize, manage, report and help remove Suspected Unapproved Parts from the global aviation system. Students who pass the course get certificates of completion and credit towards the individuals’ Inspection Authorization A requirements. The FAA approved the online curriculum course for IA authorization requirements.. For organizations that would prefer live/interactive learning classroom on SUPs may schedule such a session by clicking on this LINK.
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Man admits part in scam which grounded flights
Jose Alejandro Zamora Yrala will be sentenced at Southwark Crown Court next year
A company director has pleaded guilty to supplying counterfeit plane parts, which led to the grounding of hundreds of flights across the world.
JOSE ALEJANDRO ZAMORA YRALA[1], 37, from Virginia Water, Surrey, admitted defrauding customers while operating UK-based AOG Technics between January 2019 and December 2023.
The parts were used by airlines across the world, with the company’s client base also including maintenance providers and parts suppliers.
Zamora Yrala was granted conditional bail at Southwark Crown Court and is to be sentenced in February next year.
Planes in the UK and internationally were grounded in 2023 after the UK’s Civil Aviation Authority, the United States’ Federal Aviation Administration and the European Union Aviation Safety Agency issued safety alerts to airlines that may have purchased or installed AOG’s parts.
Zamora Yrala admitted FALSIFYING DOCUMENTATION that related to the origin, status or condition of aircraft parts.
The parts sold were fitted into the world’s most widely used passenger aircraft engine, the CFM56, which powers Boeing 737 and Airbus A320 aircraft, the SERIOUS FRAUD OFFICE (SFO) said.
The SFO launched an investigation alongside Portuguese authorities in 2023. The Portuguese probe remains ongoing.
Emma Luxton, director of operations at the SFO, said: “This significant and audacious fraud threatened trust in the aviation industry and risked public safety on a global scale.
“I’m extremely proud that we’ve acted swiftly to secure this conviction and wish to thank law enforcement partners in Portugal for their speedy and critical assistance.”
[1] • Born: Circa 1988 (age 37 in 2025)
- Nationality: Venezuelan by birth; holds British citizenship
- Residence: Virginia Water, Surrey, UK
- Early Career: Former techno DJ before entering the aviation supply industry
- Business Role: Director of AOG Technics, a UK-based aviation parts supplier
