Page 15 - AAA NOVEMBER - DECEMBER 2013 Online Magazine

FEATURE COMPONENT REFURBISH

producing unacceptable quality, suspect says ATR’s Vargas. “Therefore parts may
aircraft parts should be held accountable,” be expensive - taking this into account,
he asserted. LaBelle said that he was repair solutions are always provided
“appalled that the very real possibility with the aim of lowering the operating
exists that aircraft parts manufacturers costs. It’s not easy to give a percentage
and their certification bodies could be [of parts that are re-used], but the goal is
getting away with potentially risking to make sure that any significant part is
human life in the name of profit.” repairable,” he says.
It seems faltering first steps are According to Martin Fraissignes,
being taken to redress the balance. The AFRA’s executive director, “The publication
Aircraft Fleet Recycling Association of AFRA’s aircraft materials Best
(AFRA) has been established to enable Management Practice Guide, [means]
airlines to manage their retired airplanes both industry and the market can be
in a traceable and environmentally guaranteed that strict, professional and
responsible way while maximising responsible aircraft materials recycling Martin Fraissignes,
the value of redundant aircraft. It was be promoted and appreciated throughout executive director
established in 2006 and has produced a the sector.” Which is great if buyers insist of recycling
“Best Management Practice” document on AFRA members supplying parts. But organization AFRA
on the management of used aircraft, what if they don’t?
reclaimed parts, and defined minimum “A comprehensive strategy is needed
performance standards for companies that engages authorities, aviation
that break and recycle parts from older industries and governments in the
aircraft. The association estimates that up provision of intelligence and a system to
to 44% of the global fleet of aircraft will track counterfeiters and their products,”
reach end of life in the next 20 years which Parry accurately points out. This
means over 13,000 commercial, military would demand detailed and verifiable
and private aircraft being stripped for information on suppliers and brokers in
parts as they are broken down. the entire supply along with systematic
The pressure to re-use is keen – and testing, quality assurance and verification.
thanks to the one-off build style used by But that, as with most best-practice
all manufacturers, many aircraft parts systems, will cost plenty. One option to
are in fact designed to be re-used. “Parts cut down on risky re-used parts is being
installed on the aircraft are usually pursued by the EU’s Malavallon, through
complex (structural parts, calculators, its PAMELA project.
etc…) and production volumes are quite Under the PAMELA scheme, any
low when compared to other industries,” aircraft being scrapped is first thoroughly

FIGHTING CHIPS radio frequency identification (RFID)
Just like credit cards now all come tagging of components, although
with hard to fake holograms (even some counterfeiters have successfully
if the salespeople never look at copied RFIDs, bar codes, holograms,
them) the aircraft parts makers are and other security markers. The
making their components harder latest approach is to embed tiny
to counterfeit. For example, in the tamper-resistant chips into the
US, component suppliers have to structure of the part. Usually only
document the “conformance” and about 1mm square, they can contain
“traceability” of components when wide data sets such as origin, date
they bid for contracts. As well as of manufacture, even servicing and
traceability, buyers demand supply usage records – but the biggest
chain, testing and quality assurance security benefit is they can (as yet)
information, and are sometimes only be read by smart hand-held
destroying parts before sending them reader/verifiers that ensure dodgy
for scrap. Another approach is to use buyers cannot fudge authenticity.

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