AIRLINES across America have revealed that thousands of jet engine parts with fraudulent safety certificates were installed on some of their planes.

The dubious parts have been found in engines at a growing number of airlines including Delta and Southwest Airlines.

So far, Southwest, American, and United Airlines have all stopped some aircraft from flying due to the issue. 

On Monday, Delta said it removed a small number of engines from service and is swapping out parts to resolve the problem. 

AOG Technics is a UK-based broker of airplane parts that serves as a components middleman by acquiring parts and then selling them to maintenance and repair organizations like General Electric.

The Federal Aviation Administration and its European counterpart have accused AOG Technics of using forged documents for the certificates used to track the safety record, origin, and airworthiness of airline parts.

GE and its engine partner Safran filed a lawsuit against the firm claiming it used falsified documentation to sell engine parts to airlines. 

Engine manufacturers claim that the small broker, which was established in 2015, sold spare parts that are now on at least 126 jet engines.

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AOG Technics turned over documents on Wednesday after a judge in London ordered the company to provide details on the sale of its parts. 

GE and Safran are reviewing AOG Technics’ records to determine the extent of the fraud.

Prior to their review, the companies said they found 16 engines in their shops and 110 in other facilities with parts sourced from AOG Technics.

It appears safety certificates are not the only thing AOG Technics has fabricated.

A U.S. database of approvals for parts like those sold by AOG Technics has no record of the firm having received approvals.

“It’s a bit strange that a phantom company can be allowed to supply spare parts with false certification documents,” Olivier Andriès, the chief executive of Safran, told reporters last month. 

Bloomberg News previously reported that the LinkedIn profiles of AOG Technics’ supposed employees used stock photos. 

“There are, therefore, legitimate questions as to whether the profiles have been manufactured and whether the profiled employees actually exist,” said the suit.