'Sketchy' Plane Parts For Sale Online

Spare Boeing and Airbus parts of dubious origin have been found for sale on Internet sites such as Craiglist, BusinessWeek reports. The parts, including vital valves and gears, are being sold by at least 24 vendors—mainly in China and the US—without FAA approval or documentation that they've been inspected for airworthiness.

Unapproved parts being used in aircraft has plagued the FAA for years, and counterfeiters are becoming more sophisticated. The study, from a company that specializes in protecting brands, didn't discover which airlines were scouring the Internet for parts, but experts say controls are strongest in North America and Europe, and weakest in parts of Africa and Asia. (More Craigslist stories.)