Owner of Spares Inc. Ordered To Forfeit $1M in Hansen Criminal Lawsuit | Aviation International News

Owner of Hansen Supplier Spares Inc. Sentenced

Spares Inc. manufactured unapproved parts for Hansen Helicopters

By Mark Huber • Contributor

August 22, 2023

The owner of Spares Inc., an Oregon company that supplied 23 different unapproved parts to Hansen Helicopters, was sentenced to five years of probation, $8,500 in fines, and a $400 special assessment. Separately, Spares was ordered to pay a forfeiture of $945,165.89, less the value of tools and equipment used to manufacture aircraft parts that the company forfeited.

On April 20, Spares pleaded guilty to one count of aircraft parts fraud. Some of the parts in question—including tail rotor pitch change links for Hughes 369-series helicopters—were implicated in several Hansen accidents. Spares was operated by Frank Litkei, who died in 2021. Control of the company then passed to his widow, Christine Litkei. Spares ceased operations in 2022.

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