Summary

On June 27, Elaine Slomsky of Livonia, MI, a former Quality Assurance Manager for Anco–Tech, Inc. (ANCO), Dearborn Heights, MI, pled guilty in U. S. District Court in Philadelphia to making false statements by issuing false certifications of conformance to specifications on titanium tubing. The tubing was subsequently sold to two other aviation companies and used in the production of V–22 Osprey military helicopters. ANCO, which went out of business in 2002, manufactured seamless titanium tubing used in various flight–critical and non–critical military and commercial aerospace applications, including hydraulic systems. On June 7, 2005, Slomsky was charged with signing four certificates of conformance between April 2000 and February 2001 which falsely certified that the tubing had been manufactured and inspected in accordance with specifications, when she knew that certain required testing and inspection had not been done. There have been no reported aircraft accidents or malfunctions attributable to the nonconforming titanium tubing, but FAA is considering issuing a safety alert to the commercial aviation industry.