Man admits part in scam which grounded flights

Jose Alejandro Zamora Yrala will be sentenced at Southwark Crown Court next year

A company director has pleaded guilty to supplying counterfeit plane parts, which led to the grounding of hundreds of flights across the world.

Jose Alejandro Zamora Yrala, 37, from Virginia Water, Surrey, admitted defrauding customers while operating UK-based AOG Technics between January 2019 and December 2023.

The parts were used by airlines across the world, with the company's client base also including maintenance providers and parts suppliers.

Zamora Yrala was granted conditional bail at Southwark Crown Court and is to be sentenced in February next year.

Planes in the UK and internationally were grounded in 2023 after the UK's Civil Aviation Authority, the United States' Federal Aviation Administration and the European Union Aviation Safety Agency issued safety alerts to airlines that may have purchased or installed AOG's parts.

Zamora Yrala admitted falsifying documentation that related to the origin, status or condition of aircraft parts.

The parts sold were fitted into the world's most widely used passenger aircraft engine, the CFM56, which powers Boeing 737 and Airbus A320 aircraft, the Serious Fraud Office (SFO) said.

The SFO launched an investigation alongside Portuguese authorities in 2023. The Portuguese probe remains ongoing.

Emma Luxton, director of operations at the SFO, said: "This significant and audacious fraud threatened trust in the aviation industry and risked public safety on a global scale.

"I'm extremely proud that we've acted swiftly to secure this conviction and wish to thank law enforcement partners in Portugal for their speedy and critical assistance."