FAA Issues UPN Against Safran Cabin (galley and lavatory parts)
June 7, 2025 Leave a comment
The FAA has issued an unapproved parts notice (“UPN”) against Safran Cabin, which is located at 7330 Lincoln Way, Garden Grove, CA. The UPN affects these Safran Cabin parts (descriptions pulled from the UPN):
- “Galley refresh modification kits manufactured and sold by Safran for installation on FAA type-certificated Boeing 737-800 and 737-900ER series airplanes from May 2023 to July 2024.”
- “Lavatory flush switch assemblies manufactured and sold by Safran for installation on FAA type-certificated Airbus A320 and A321 series airplanes from August 2021 to June 2024.”
The UPN states that the parts were produced and sold “without Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) production approval.” The UPN also states that the parts may have been marked FAA-PMA and been accompanied by 8130-3 tags. This is particularly disturbing, because the UPN statements suggest that the markings and documentation were misleadingly incorrect. The industry relies on the accuracy of these statements and documents to help assure airworthiness.
The UPN has a more detailed list of affected parts. If you find the affected parts in your inventory, the FAA’s advice from the UPN is this:
“If these articles are found in existing inventory, the FAA recommends that they be quarantined to prevent installation until a determination can be made regarding their eligibility for installation…. In addition to the above recommendations, the FAA would appreciate any information concerning the discovery of the above-referenced parts from any source, the means used to identify the source, and the actions taken to remove the parts from the aircraft and parts inventories”
This is an important lesson that having a well-known name like “Safran” is no guarantee of compliance. Safran Cabin holds a significant number of PMAs. Actual PMAs appear to be unaffected. If you are wondering whether a part with a PMA marking is actually FAA-approved, then you can verify the PMA online at the FAA’s Dynamic Regulatory System.
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