Standard Hardware and Seals Top September 2026 Hard-to-Find Parts List

Standard hardware and seals accounted for 33% of the global hardest-to-find aircraft parts list in September 2026 and 36% of North America's, according to marketplace data from Locatory.com. The category also led most-searched rankings, at 39% globally and 45% in North America, as the heavy maintenance season gets underway.

The findings mark a structural shift. For four consecutive months, from May through August, a cluster of GE90 (the engine family powering the Boeing 777) part numbers dominated the global hardest-to-find Top 50. None of those part numbers appear anywhere on the September list, and 21 part numbers carried over between the global and North American datasets, with no major category differing by more than three percentage points between regions.

Locatory.com stated: "Most of the Top 50 Most Searched parts appeared in both datasets, while no major Hardest to Find category differed between North America and Global by more than three percentage points." The reports also note that the hardest-to-find list is no longer dominated by a single engine cluster, with sourcing pressure spread across all categories.

Why standard hardware and seals lead the constraints

The most constrained items in September span bushings, seals, bearings, screws, bolts, washers, gaskets and packings — low-value consumables rather than high-value rotables (removable, repairable units such as fuel controls and starter motors). Specific part numbers include bushing AJ18C105DU, seal J8066, bearings VTB11220P20 and 1B7297, ring back up 8-218V709-90, screws 60-4156-1 and 2291-13, bolts 51U692 and 5306-01-231-7363, flat washer NAS1149C0690R, gaskets 5330011165466 and 613U59-0003-2, packing 5330-01-706-1023, a Cessna internal wrenching nut (81791-1018) and stud 5307014788710.

What happened to engine components?

Engine components made up 22% of the global hardest-to-find list and 20% of North America's. The constrained items include a turbine rotor set (750574-3), metering pin (1C2067-1), piston (F859989), bearings 3120010487927 and 3130010548610, bearing housing liner (4286-309A), main fuel control unit body assembly (343813), starter motor (04-20148) and valve 4820-01-409-0096.

Locatory.com experts explained: "None of these overlap with the Boeing 777 cluster that had appeared on every global Hardest-to-Find Top 50 from May through August." Items that dropped off the list include FADEC (full-authority digital engine control) variants 105E70898G1, G2 and G3, HMU (hydromechanical unit) control assembly 1693M75P08, and a GE90 temperature and pressure sensor (0154GF9).

The analysts cautioned against reading the change as relief: "That does not confirm the constraint has eased, since a part can fall just outside of the Top 50 while remaining genuinely hard to source, but it is a break in a pattern that has held for four consecutive months."

Cabin, safety, avionics and airframe constraints

Cabin and safety components held 16% of both regional lists, with identical parts on each: buckle assemblies referenced under stock numbers D48896, F1430918, 2010-6-11-2267 and 5340006233289, a second buckle (FDC1575-2), reflector 3234453-1, lighting fixtures 2G44012 and 6210002342656, a fire fighting nonmetallic hose assembly (4210-01-075-7324) and light lens 6230-01-017-1226.

Electrical and avionics items held 13% of the global list and 14% of North America's, with the same six parts on both: relay N130-6520, voltage converter 41010-000, capacitor 935A333-3, switch 5930011793417 and time totalizing meters 6645009005830 and 95C8WE.

Airframe and landing gear constraints accounted for roughly 7% of the global list and 5% of North America's, covering aluminum rib 65B11513-77 and underwing longeron filler 675W0003-7. A hinge assembly (S5287931100701) appeared on the global list only. Chemicals also registered, with two corrosion preventive compound listings (8030001450111 and MIL-C-21067) and aircraft and instrument grease 9150-00-145-0161.

What does this change for procurement teams?

The reports frame the shift as a management problem. "September presents procurement teams with a different problem from the summer. A shortage concentrated around one engine family is a defined risk," the reports state. When demand concentrates, buyers can track the program, line up alternative sources and secure material ahead of known shop visits.

"Scarcity spread across hardware, engines, avionics, cabin equipment, airframe material and chemicals is much harder to anticipate and manage," the reports add. Locatory.com experts conclude: "High value rotables and known engine bottlenecks will still justify forward planning. But September's data shows that resilience also depends on visibility of lower value items." They note that a missing fastener, seal, bearing or chemical can hold up an aircraft's return to service as effectively as a scarce major component.

The open question for the fourth quarter, in the analysts' words, is whether this broader pattern becomes the new sourcing baseline or pressure concentrates again around specific platforms and component families.