Military Aircraft:

Cannibalizations Adversely Affect Personnel and Maintenance

GAO-01-693T: Published: May 22, 2001. Publicly Released: May 22, 2001.

Additional Materials:

Contact:

Neal P. Curtin
(757) 552-8100
contact@gao.gov

 

Office of Public Affairs
(202) 512-4800
youngc1@gao.gov

All the military services extensively use cannibalization--the removal of a working component from one aircraft to install it on another--as a routine aircraft maintenance strategy. However, neither the Department of Defense nor the services know the overall magnitude of this practice. Cannibalizations increase maintenance costs by increasing workloads, may affect morale and the retention of personnel, and sometimes result in the unavailability of expensive aircraft for long periods of time. Cannibalizations also can create unnecessary mechanical problems for maintenance personnel. With the exception of the Navy, the services do not consistently track the specific reasons for cannibalizations. In the broadest sense, cannibalizations are done because of pressures to meet readiness and operational needs and the shortcomings of the supply system. In addition, a Navy study found that cannibalizations are sometimes done because mechanics are not trained well enough to diagnose problems or because testing equipment is either not available or not working. Although the services have undertaken some initiatives to reduce cannibalizations, none of them have developed a specific strategy to reduce the maintenance hours associated with cannibalizations. Because they view cannibalization as a symptom of spare parts shortages, the services have not closely analyzed other possible causes or made concerted efforts to measure the full extent of the practice.

Jan 13, 2021

Dec 16, 2020

Dec 9, 2020

Dec 3, 2020

Nov 30, 2020

Nov 24, 2020

Nov 23, 2020

Nov 18, 2020

Oct 7, 2020

Looking for more? Browse all our products here