Counterfeit Components represents far more than financial and reputational risk for the manufacturer. In some cases, human lives are very much at stake. Failure to properly safeguard supply chains against a rapidly expanding gray market of both substandard and outright Counterfeit parts can have the direst consequences one can imagine.

A recent article in the AirForce Times talks about the life and tragic death of Lt. David Schmitz, who was killed when his ejection seat malfunctioned while escaping from his F-16 Fighting Falcon. While the seat ejected him 130 into the air, his parachute failed to deploy, and he hit the ground seven seconds later while still strapped to his seat. He was only 32.

In a public statement issued by the Air Force in November, 2020, it was stated that primary blame rested with Schmitz on how he mishandled his landing, as well as with his supervisor who did not recommend he eject earlier. Later, however, through research conducted by Schmitz’s widow’s legal team, it was found that the ejector seat — manufactured by Collins Aerospace — had several serious flaws, namely in the interior electrics which were scratched, poorly sanded, and displayed overall substandard craftsmanship.

Particular emphasis was placed on the seat’s digital recovery sequencer, which is provided by Teledyne Teledyne Technologies — who also provides sequencers in seats on F-15s,F-117s, A-10 attack planes, and B-1 and B-2 bombers. According to photos taken by Air Force Research Laboratory and obtained through the Freedom of Information Act, six transistors in the sequencer were heavily gouged, had arching scratch marks, and were highly suspected of being counterfeit.

“the DoD [Department of Defense] is aware of this problem and is working to eliminate these components from supply chains,” said Air Force Research Laboratory in a statement.

While litigation regarding this tragedy is ongoing, it does highlight just how important it is for manufacturers in any industry that supply products responsible for human health and safety to have stringent, proven strategies in place to guarantee optimal performance. One such solution, supported by Partstat, is a purchasing funnel that is restricted only to component manufacturers and authorized distributors, which can accessed here

Since 2012, 89 people were killed in Air Force mishaps. Adding even one more preventable casualty to that tally would be unacceptable. Manufacturers in any industry would be wise to take such a lesson to heart.

The post Counterfeit Components Have Real Consequences appeared first on News & Blog.