A Plane without AS9120 Certified Parts Might Crash with its Maker (Demo)

Manufacturers can be held liable if it is proven that the parts they supplied contributed to or caused an aircraft accident. This highlights the importance of AS9120 certification. Recently, the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) began investigating the late August, 2014 crash of a Cessna plane, which had four college students on board. In an article for the Farmington Hills Legal Examiner, attorney Mark Bello writes about the consequences that any possible findings may bring:

Initial reports stated that shortly after the 20-year-old pilot took off, he reported the plane was having engine trouble and requested a return to the airport. As he tried to turn back to the airport, the plane crashed. Upon impact, the plane caught fire, trapping the four students inside. The plane, which was rented, was engulfed in flames when the fire department arrived.

For safety’s sake Quality management standards need to be stringent, especially for the aerospace industry because lives and substantial investments are on the line. With so much at stake, plane manufacturers need to go the extra mile to find certification bodies like International Standards Authority, Inc. to conduct an external audit for them after an internal team does one initially. Auditors check for adherence to standards set by the aerospace industry, ensures the parts are traceable, and certifies that the manufacturing processes are sound and reliable. In the event of negative findings, auditors will have to be made aware of how those findings will be corrected or addressed. Only then will genuine AS9120 certification be issued. Legal consequences If a supplier makes defective parts for a plane and it fails, the supplier indirectly caused the crash. This does have legal complications for the supplier as they can be brought to court as an accomplice or even the main cause of the aircraft’s failure.

If investigators determine that this accident resulted from defective equipment or poor maintenance, the owner of the plane, parts manufacturers, and/or inspectors could be held liable.

Though it would take months or even years until the results of the NTSB are made public, the manufacturer’s reputation would be questionable until such time they are vindicated. With the help of ISO certification bodies, you can keep that from happening to your own business and offer your customers both quality service and peace of mind. (Article Excerpt and Image from “Four Case Western Students Die in Fiery Plane Crash”, Farmington Hills Legal Examiner, 26 August 2014)