A massive scandal erupted in the US aerospace industry. James Smalley, Quality Assurance Engineer for PMI Industries of Rochester, New York, which manufactures various parts for the aerospace industry, has been charged with falsifying inspection reports and test certificates for parts used in SpaceX Falcon 9 rockets and Falcon Heavy.
Smalley is also reported to have falsified test reports on parts for other US Department of Defense aerospace contractors.
The breach was identified through an investigation by the Inspector General of the US National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), the FBI and the US Air Force Office of Special Investigations (AFOSI).
In January 2018, SpaceX commissioned SQA Services to conduct an internal review, which found that numerous PMI inspection reports and test certificates that certify the safety and quality of parts contained fake inspector signatures. In particular, Smalley allegedly copied the signatures of the SQA inspector, and then pasted them into the reports.
Smalley is accused of forging 38 critical parts inspection reports for SpaceX's Falcon 9 and Falcon Heavy rockets, according to U.S. Attorney's Office for the Western District of New York.
The investigation also revealed that up to 76 PMI parts were either rejected during inspection or not tested at all and were sent for use by SpaceX.
In all, up to 10 government SpaceX missions may have been compromised by supplying parts of questionable quality, including seven for NASA, two for the US Air Force and one for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
Source: 3dnews.ru