MILAN, Oct 5 (Reuters) - Italian prosecutors on Saturday

accused seven people and two sub-contractors of crimes including

fraud and breaching airplane safety rules following an

investigation into suspected flawed parts produced by an Italian

company for Boeing ( BA ).

The prosecutors launched their investigation in late 2021

after Boeing ( BA ) said some parts for its 787 Dreamliner plane

supplied by a company working for Italian aerospace group

Leonardo had been improperly manufactured.

Investigators found that two Italian sub-contractors used

cheaper and non-compliant forms of titanium and aluminium to

make certain parts, saving significant sums of money on their

raw material costs, the prosecutors said in a statement, without

naming the sub-contractors or the seven people.

"This resulted in the realisation of airplane parts with

significantly lower static and stress resistance

characteristics, with repercussions on aviation safety," the

prosecutors in the southern city of Brindisi said.

Aerospace experts working with prosecutors certified at

least 4,829 non-compliant components made of titanium and 1,158

made of aluminium, they said.

"The expert work and investigations concluded that some

non-compliant structural components could, in the long run,

create harm to the safety of the aircraft, requiring the U.S.

company to initiate an extraordinary maintenance campaign of the

aircraft involved," they said, adding Boeing ( BA ) and Leonardo were

victims of the alleged crimes and had cooperated with the probe.

The seven people and two sub-contractors will now be given

time to present any new evidence in their defence, before the

prosecutors decide whether to request a judge to call a trial.

Leonardo declined to comment. Boeing ( BA ) said it would comment

in due course.