FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Wednesday, March 3, 1999
Contact: Jeff Nelligan
Telephone: (202) 366-6312
OIG 8–99
Firm, Principals Convicted for Failure
To Properly Temper Critical Aircraft Parts
A La Mirada, Calif., firm in the business of tempering critical aircraft and spacecraft parts and two of its principals were convicted on charges related to the improper processing and testing of such parts, the Department of Transportation's Office of Inspector General announced today.
West Coast Aluminum Heat Treating Company and its president, June Fitch, on Feb. 23 were convicted of conspiracy and making false statements following a two-week jury trial in Los Angeles. At the close of the trial, Fitch's son, Eugene Fitch, vice president of the company, pleaded guilty to similar charges plus an additional charge of obstruction of justice for ordering the destruction of documents.
Prosecutors alleged that the firm and its officers improperly heat-tempered the aluminum aircraft parts the company handled and then attested in statements to the Department of Defense, a client, that they had been properly tempered. Improperly heat-treated aluminum parts are not as strong as properly treated parts; they can crack, corrode or fail prematurely.
The parts in question were components of a wide range of craft including attack helicopters, fighter aircraft, the Titan IV launch vehicle and the Space Shuttle. Evidence was presented that, between 1981 and early 1997, the firm routinely heat-treated parts for a significantly shorter time period than that required and specified in contracts. Further, evidence showed the firm had skipped or altered required quality-control tests on the parts.
Early in 1998, a safety alert went out to all agencies that had contracted with the firm; two similar warnings went out that year to private firms that had contracted with West Coast.
Sentencing is set for June 24. Each of the 11 total counts carries a maximum five-year prison sentence.
The case was investigated by the Defense Criminal Investigative Service, the Offices of Inspector General at DOT and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, and the Defense Contract Management Command.
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