I’m fanning the discussion. Look at the excellent inputs in #12, #18.
And thank you for your input too.
By the way, I had a close friend, his wife and five children die on Alaska 261 from Seattle to Mexico in 2000. Cause of crash: defective lead screw made of improperly tempered steel manufactured and supplied by China.
“The National Transportation Safety Board determines that the probable cause of this accident was a loss of airplane pitch control resulting from the in-flight failure of the horizontal stabilizer trim system jackscrew assembly’s acme nut threads”
https://www.ntsb.gov/investigations/AccidentReports/Pages/AAR0201.aspx
And another by the way on the subject of Alaska 261. A couple I knew in South Seattle had a son that worked as an aviation maintenance tech for Alaska at the time. Their son said the NTSB pulled a political hit on Alaska saying the cause was improper lubrication which he is said was bullcrap. NTSB didn’t want to point to Chinese steel as the cause because it was too hot to handle politically. But NTSB did require in the aftermath total testing verification of assemblies made in China by Alaska suppliers. So they knew.
My friend’s son said Alaska management immediately had all jack screw assemblies pulled from inventory and their suppliers do the same, had them tested and found them defective while the parts records were signed off without the required testing and verification. Chinese factory managers think all the testing and records requirements are bunk. They think Americans and their quality control and quality assurance requirements are unnecessary and costly. They left it to America aviation suppliers to do the required testing. The American suppliers did sample testing, factory tours, audits, and made the mistake of trusting the rest to the Chinese. I’ve been to China with General Electric. I am not a fan of the PRC Chinese. They are dishonest.
Can I have an apology or an understanding for my inclination to bash and not trust Chinese liars?
I’m sorry to hear about your friend and his family. A customer of my Brothers from Scott’s Valley, Ca. also died on that flight.
It’s been my professional experience that the Chinese are the most unethical, amoral a-holes on the planet - almost w/o exception.
OK. The ChiComs suck. I get it. I got that a long time ago. Now, if you can show a ChiCom connection these engines, go ahead and do it.
Normally, I'm not a fan of our tort system, but I think here's a case where it can be useful. If a defective Chinese part was put through the system, then the lawsuit against the airline will result in a directive that NO Chinese parts may be purchased for US planes. Either that, or a performance bond must be taken out, backed by the Chinese government.
Dishonesty by Chinese executives might be greatly reduced, if forfeiture of a performance bond resulted in the Chinese government taking the executives, and their families, and having them shot.