An aircraft Stores/Parts employee reports his company; a fractional operator; receiving a shipment of lithium battery packs that did not have any FAA/PMA markings on the shipping boxes; or FAA-8130 Serviceable Tag included in the shipment. The batteries had been installed in defibrillators on many of their aircraft; but were not approved for U.S. aircraft.
Synopsis
An aircraft Stores/Parts employee reports his company; a fractional operator; receiving a shipment of lithium battery packs that did not have any FAA/PMA markings on the shipping boxes; or FAA-8130 Serviceable Tag included in the shipment. The batteries had been installed in defibrillators on many of their aircraft; but were not approved for U.S. aircraft.
Narrative
[Several months ago] my Supervisor pulled four to five cases of lithium battery replacement assemblies; Part Number (P/N) XXX82-000; off the receiving belt and asked me to receive [enter] them in our [Maintenance Stores Parts System]. To the best of my knowledge when I received the first case I checked the part number and they matched. I left the other three to four cases sealed for storage purposes. When receiving parts in from Medtronic; they do not send any serviceable paperwork (FAA-8130 Tag) since they [lithium batteries] are considered loose equipment. So when I received them in; I did not have any paperwork to verify the part number/serial number. I check the part number/serial numbers of all parts that come through the door. I was notified today by Quality Assurance (Q/A) that I had received 'in' the wrong P/N XXX31-000 in error; which prompted me to file this report. My suggestion to avoid this kind of event is take your time and check every little detail of everything coming in and out of Materials (Stores Parts).
NASA callback
Reporter stated they are a Fractional Operator and use the lithium batteries for their on-board heart defibrillators. The batteries are about the size of an average sized laptop computer battery pack. The placards on the shipping boxes from the supplier/manufacturer; Medtronic; are not your traditional type placard with Part Numbers (P/N) and Serial Numbers (S/N); the placard just says 'Hazardous Material'. There was; in very small fine print at the bottom of the placard; the words: 'Not Allowed on U.S. aircraft'. He just did not notice the words.Reporter stated that since the lithium batteries are considered 'loose equipment' the boxes of batteries did not come with an FAA-8130 Serviceable Tag or any FAA/PMA markings in the shipping containers. If you put the batteries side by side; they look exactly the same; only the last two digits of the Part Numbers are different. The unapproved Lithium batteries were installed on numerous aircraft; but once the mistake was recognized; Maintenance removed the incorrect batteries.Reporter stated his company has revised their parts receiving procedures; but the Supplier/Manufacturer has not changed their labeling of the shipping boxes or included a better inventory shipping list with the batteries.
Source: NASA Aviation Safety Reporting System (public domain). Reports are voluntary submissions and are not verified by NASA.