Machodoc
Old Guy
I had a similar situation many years ago, but the seller was an antique aircraft parts supplier. He shipped me wooden materials that were not up to FAA standards, and one of the parts broke upon installation. My local inspector (AI) looked at all the parts and said that he wouldn't sign off if I used about half of the materials I'd been sent.
I called the seller and he said to ship the faulty parts back to him to look at (ie ... hide the evidence). I naively did that, waited for weeks, and finally called and asked what he planned to do.
He said, "I'm up here in Wisconsin with the parts, and you are down there in NC. What are YOU going going to do?!" ... and he slammed the phone down.
Naive though I was, I wasn't stupid. Not only did I have the AI's word that he'd seen parts that didn't pass inspection, I also had a roll of film (remember that stuff?) with very clear photos of the low-grade parts.
I called in the local FAA inspector, showed him the photos and had him talk to the AI. He called the office that covered the region where the seller was, and they paid a surprise visit to the guy's shop. There they found that he was making as selling parts that he was advertising as being certified for use on certificated aircraft, but which were not certificated.
As an interesting side outcome, one of the things they found was that the shop was manufacturing counterfeit skis for light aircraft (with another company's decals on them) and selling the un-inspected counterfeits. The AG in the State of Alaska learned of this and pressed charges. He also blocked any further business by the company in that state (pending the outcome of the charges, I think). Not being able to sell aircraft parts in Alaska is a HUGE hit to any dealer, since there are so many planes there.
After all of this stuff had happened, I called the guy back up, told him who it was, and said, "I'm down here in NC, and you are up in WI. THAT is what I'm doing."
He called me every name in the book--saying I was the worst thing that ever happened to aviation, that every other pilot in America would hate me, saying that he was the last person providing parts that people needed, etc., etc. I just laughed at him and told him that's what happens to crooks.
Karma's a real bitch. He continued selling parts made by other manufacturers, but the FAA closed him down from selling stuff that he was making.
No, I never got any of my money back, but it no longer mattered at that point. I made the parts that I needed, with the blessing of the FAA, and they lasted more than 20 years--until the next major airframe overhaul was necessary.
All he needed to do was send parts that were made to specification, but he insisted, instead, on being an a&&ho1e. I never heard a word from anyone in the aviation community that they hated me, but I did actually hear from the local FAA guy that other complaints started rolling in once the stuff hit that company's fan, and people realized that the FAA was doing something about them.
