Six former employees of a Lincoln company were accused Thursday in a federal grand jury indictment of endangering the lives of fliers by cutting corners in the repair of airplane parts.

On one occasion related in the indictment, two of the defendants used a paper clip instead of an approved part to complete a repair, and then returned the part to the customer after certifying that the job had been done properly.

The six defendants regularly directed technicians at WECO Aerospace Systems Inc., an air-repair station certified by the Federal Aviation Administration, to use unapproved parts in violation of FAA regulations and manufacturers' component maintenance manuals, the indictment alleges. Each time, it alleges, they falsely certified to customers the parts had been repaired in accordance with FAA regulations.

The FAA-approved maintenance manuals describe the steps a repair shop must take to fix a part, as well as the tests and inspections required before the part can be returned to service. Yet, the indictment charges, the defendants did not have the equipment needed to perform many of the mandated tests.

"It is appalling that these defendants would put financial gain and reward ahead of the safety and well-being of the many people who could have fallen in harm's way as a result of these fraudulently repaired airplane parts," said Herb Brown, special agent in charge of Sacramento's FBI field office.

U.S. Attorney Benjamin Wagner said, "While it is fortunate that there are no aircraft crashes known to be associated with faulty repairs conducted by these defendants, their alleged conduct needlessly took risks with the safety of persons who used aircraft that they repaired."

Charged in the 36-count indictment are Jerry Edward Kuwata, 60, and Douglas Arthur Johnson, 52, both of Granite Bay; Scott Hamilton Durham, 39, of Roseville; Christopher Warren MacQueen, 53, of Lincoln; Michael Dennis Maupin, 58, of Arbuckle; and Anthony Vincent Zito, 47, of Saugus. All six were executives or supervisors at WECO.

Upon learning of the allegations, the FAA issued an emergency order suspending the firm's repair station certificate, Wagner said.

In addition, he said, since finalizing its purchase of WECO in 2008, Gulfstream Aerospace Corp. has fully cooperated with the investigation of the former employees. The alleged conduct occurred before Gulfstream acquired the firm.

Investigators with three federal departments – Transportation, Homeland Security, and Defense – teamed with FBI agents to gather the evidence supporting the charges.

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