CBC: Fake, used parts in new Canadian Hercules planes

Fake parts in Hercules aircraft called a genuine risk

By Greg Weston, CBC News, January 9, 2013
Despite repeated government denials, CBC News has confirmed that some of Canada’s new Hercules military transport planes have counterfeit Chinese parts in their cockpits that could leave pilots with blank instrument panels in mid-flight.

Documents show the Canadian military has known about the bogus electronic chips in the giant Hercules C-130J aircraft since at least July 2012, but continued to hide the fact during a CBC News investigation months later.
The military continues to fly the new Hercs with the fake parts, and says it still has no immediate plans to replace them.
A 14-month investigation by the powerful U.S. Senate armed services committee concluded last year that counterfeit parts in the Hercules transports and other American-made military equipment are prone to failure with potentially “catastrophic consequences.”
Failure of the parts could leave Canadian military pilots flying blind, potentially in a combat zone, with no information on altitude, speed, location, fuel supply, engine performance or warning messages.
There are so many things to unpack in this story, so let's begin.
First, the CBC's Greg Weston, like a relentless hunter pursuing an evasive prey, Weston has proven to be one of the more "penetrating" of the new additions to the CBC news crew. Coming over from Sun Media, Weston forecast another sycophantic, and cherubic voice from the 'right' in support of the Harper government. He has proven to be precisely the opposite, thankfully!
Second, Lougheed-Martin needs to be publicly castigated for permitting such an overt and dangerous development that includes the potential compromise of the safety and security of their airplanes. However these knock-off's found their way into these new planes needs a full investigation, on the part of the manufacturer, and a come-clean accounting with all purchasers of the planes, including both the United States and Canada.
Third, the Defense Department, including both the Minister, Peter McKay and the "procurement" minister, Julian Fantino, must provide a thorough accounting of their part, and the role played by their officials, in both the initial installing of these parts, and the alleged cover-up that has shrouded this story, according to Weston's reporting for many months.
Fourth, the Prime Minister's office has another "procurement/accounting/responsibility/and trust problem to deal with. We already know of the botched affair commonly known as the proposed purchase of some 65 F35 Fighter Jets, including their failure to do the things they were supposed to do, the incompent assessment and reporting of the costs, including maintenance over the life of the proposed contract and now the  second overhaul of the "corrected process" to assure the Canadian people that a totally new approach will be taken to the procurement of any fighter planes to replace the aging F-18's. Now, we see another failure of oversight, of professional competence, of accountability and transparency...in short another example of failed governance from this government....
And we all know that, while admitting there are, indeed, knock-off parts that could endanger military crews in flying these brand new planes, there is no urgency to replace them or to uncover and report on how this debacle developed, and whose hands are covered with the failure to do a responsible job on behalf of the Canadian people, and the Canadian military personnel whose lives are directly impacted.
It would seem that Lance Armstrong, Roger Clemens, Barry Bonds, Sammy Sosa and some of the ministers in the Harper government attended and graduated from the same "finishing" school operated by the same "cover-up training" corporation....
Wonder if Blackwater operates a training program for concealment of public information?