Summary

On May 23, 2016, Hilario Hernandez, owner and Chief Inspector of Max Avionics, Miami, FL, pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court, Miami, Florida, for fraudulently certifying that aircraft parts were approved for return to service. Max Avionics is a Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Authorized Aircraft Repair Station in Miami.

According to the indictment, Max Avionics and Hernandez accepted aircraft parts from various customers in order to conduct repairs and return them to service. However, a number of those aircraft parts were not on the company’s FAA-approved capability list authorizing it to perform those repairs. Despite not having this authorization, Hernandez completed the maintenance release forms, fraudulently certifying to the aircraft industry that those repaired aircraft parts were ready to be installed on an aircraft. It is further alleged that Hernandez made false statements to FAA inspectors in furtherance of these violations.