AMERICAN AIRLINES HAS issued a warning to the air-transport industry that "...stolen and damaged Boeing 757 parts are entering the surplus market".
The airline says that there has been extensive looting from the wreckage of its 757 which crashed in mountains near Cali, Colombia, on 20 December, 1995. The US Federal Aviation Administration says that it is "...working on information supplied", but has not yet issued any directives.
Addressed to Boeing, operators of 757s and 767s, engine manufacturer Rolls Royce, and surplus-parts suppliers, a bulletin issued by the carrier says: "Numerous reports have surfaced concerning the theft of aircraft parts from the crash site." It specifies landing gear, engines and avionics, but says that there may be other parts missing.
American's bulletin lists about 550 specific parts, many with their unique serial numbers, warning the industry to watch for them. The FAA says that it has not yet determined whether there is evidence that parts from the Cali wreck have appeared on the spares market.
Source: Flight International
