AL 2002-01
19 February 2002
The purpose of this Alert is to advise all owners, operators, maintenance entities and parts distributors of the possibility of agencies trafficking in unapproved parts.
Transport Canada has received information from the Italian Civil Aviation Authority, Ente Nazionale per l'Aviazione (ENAC), that PANAVIATION s.r.l., an unapproved organization based in Rome, has supplied aeronautical parts worldwide that may have been altered and/or their history misrepresented. Furthermore, ENAC has advised Transport Canada that any part originating with PANAVIATION s.r.l. should be considered unairworthy.
Transport Canada is working with the ENAC to determine the impact on the Canadian aviation community. In the interim, and as a safety precaution, Transport Canada is extending this notification to prevent the installation of suspected unapproved parts on Canadian registered or type certified aeronautical products. Initial reports of this problem focused on large transport category aircraft, however pending further information from ENAC, it cannot be assured that this problem is not more widespread and may include other aircraft categories.
Canadian Aviation Regulations (CARs) require that aeronautical products conform to their design standard, have proper certification and be in a safe condition for use. Transport Canada strongly recommends that the Canadian aviation community should inspect their aircraft records, parts receiving records and/or parts inventories to determine if parts originated from PANAVIATION s.r.l. have been received or installed. It has been reported that PANAVIATION s.r.l. is commercially linked with other unapproved organizations distributing parts from Italy, namely New Tech Italia & New Tech Aerospace. If any parts linked to the above organizations are found installed on an aircraft, appropriate action should be taken in relation to the safety implications associated to their operation. If any of these parts are found in existing parts inventories, it is recommended that these parts be quarantined until a determination can be made regarding their eligibility for installation. It has also been brought to our attention that these parts have been sold by PANAVIATION s.r.l. to various entities in the United States and Europe.
Any suspected unapproved aeronautical parts should be reported to Transport Canada through the Service Difficulty Reporting system referenced in CAR Standard 591, Appendix D, titled "Guidelines for Reporting Suspected Unapproved Parts."
For further information contact a Transport Canada Centre, or call Mr. Ganesh Pandey at Maintenance & Manufacturing Branch, Ottawa, telephone (613) 952-4424 or facsimile (613) 952-3298 or by e-mail pandeg@tc.gc.ca.
For Director, National Aircraft Certification
B. Goyaniuk
Chief, Continuing Airworthiness