Company Allegedly Sold ‘Bogus’ Jet Parts

The Federal Aviation Administration plans to revoke the certification of a North Hollywood aircraft parts manufacturer that allegedly sold hundreds of pieces of “bogus” engine equipment for commercial jetliners, the agency said Monday.

The company, Donallco Inc., already is under investigation by a federal grand jury in Texas over allegations that it sold the U.S. military bogus or faulty parts for the engines of C-130 transports.

On Monday, FAA regional counsel Dewitt Lawson sent Donallco a formal notice that the agency intends to revoke the company’s “repair station certification” on Nov. 24. The FAA has charged that Donallco “failed to exercise the degree of care, judgment and responsibility” that the agency requires of those who hold such certificates.

Specific Accusations

Specifically, Donallco has been accused of manufacturing 393 bogus fuel pump drive shaft parts for various aircraft, including Lockheed Electra and Convair 580 jets. The parts were built between 1981 and 1984, FAA spokesman Russ Park said. He said he was unable to elaborate on what was meant by the agency’s description of the parts as “bogus.”

Without repair station certification, the company cannot legally repair aircraft parts, Park said. What effect that might ultimately have on the North Hollywood firm, which employs 187 people, could not be learned Monday.

An attorney representing Donallco, Nathan Goldberg, said the company plans to immediately file an appeal with the National Transportation Safety Board and expects to conduct business as usual pending its outcome.

Founded in 1950, Donallco is owned by William R. Allred, who could not be reached for comment Monday.

Last year, the firm did $18 million in business with civilian and military customers, who buy its aircraft parts and rely on it for maintenance of the equipment.

“These are the same allegations that Donallco has been fighting for almost a year,” Goldberg said. “The FAA has investigated the records of hundreds of thousands of parts that Donallco has supplied over 30 years and the FAA has found only one part out of all of these which they are raising questions about.

“We have sent this part to independent laboratories for testing and the labs found that it met all applicable technical specifications in every respect,” the attorney said. “There is no allegation that the part in question is unsafe, which substantiates what we have said all along--that our parts are safe.”

The fuel pump drive shaft that represents the impetus of the FAA’s proposed revocation action is a six-inch-long device that is about one-half inch in diameter, Goldberg said.

There apparently is no connection between the FAA’s proposed action against Donallco and an ongoing grand jury investigation in San Antonio, Tex., where former Donallco employees reportedly have been questioned about whether the company sold inferior C-130 parts to the Air Force. San Antonio is the home of Kelly Air Force Base, a Donallco customer and a primary center for maintaining C-130 engines and engine parts.

Goldberg declined to comment on the Texas case but pointed out that “there have been no indictments.”

Meanwhile, he questioned the timing of the FAA’s proposed action announced Monday, suggesting that the agency was attempting to divert attention from “negative public criticisms that the FAA has been experiencing because of its failure to fully cooperate with the NTSB on an unrelated matter.”

That matter stems from a light plane crash on Thursday in the San Gabriel Mountains that took two lives. The National Transportation Safety Board has accused the FAA of hindering the crash investigation after FAA officials refused to permit NTSB investigators to tape-record an interview with an air-traffic controller.

Safety experts are investigating whether the crash was caused by controller negligence.

FAA officials could not be reached to comment on Goldberg’s contention.