Professionals in the aviation and aerospace industries are increasingly concerned that the cause of recent safety issues are a result of counterfeit titanium components.
What is Titanium?
Titanium is a chemical element that when alloyed with another metal like steel or aluminum provides a strong, lightweight and corrosion-resistant material that is instrumental in the aerospace and aviation industries, among others.
It was recently discovered that some titanium components used in aircrafts have developed small holes that appear to be caused by corrosion. This does not happen with genuine titanium. Investigators believe that the problematic components are a result of counterfeit titanium, supplied to Boeing, as well as other manufacturers, using fake documentation, as first reported in the New York Times.
While the investigation by both the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and Boeing is still ongoing, if this counterfeiting is widespread, the implications for the aviation and aerospace industries presents a serious safety issue for an industry that has had several high-profile problems in the past year. If there are questions about all titanium components on all aircraft, there may be significant repercussions for consumers.
The number of planes available for transportation has already been restricted due to the incidents such as the Boeing plane that lost its door mid-flight. If additional planes need to be inspected due to the possible presence of bogus titanium, it will limit the number of flights available, which will likely result in higher fares for the limited available flights and other travel woes.
In addition to aviation, titanium is used in biomedical applications like artificial hips, knees and heart valves because of its lightweight, strong and durable qualities. There is nothing to indicate that counterfeiting extends to biomedical industries, but the investigation about where this counterfeit titanium has come from is just beginning.
Identifying the fake documentation and tracing it back to a source will provide some additional answers about how widespread this problem is. It will go a long way to calming nerves about safety in all of the uses of titanium. We will continue to report on this issue as more information becomes available.