The crash of Partnair Flight 394 in 1989 resulted from the installation of counterfeit aircraft parts . Counterfeit bolts , attaching the vertical stabilizer of a Convair CV-580 to the fuselage , wore down excessively , allowing the tail to vibrate to the extent that it eventually broke off . In 1990 , US President George H.W. Bush appointed Mary Schiavo as the Inspector General of the U.S. Department of Transportation . Schiavo began campaigns to curb the sale of unapproved parts and led subsequent investigations . By 1996 , the investigations resulted in hundreds of criminal convictions , restitution , fines totalling about US$ 47 million , and prison sentences as long as five years
Partnair Flight 394
Partnair Flight 394
Unapproved aircraft part