U.S. Agents Seize Items From Firm in Oxnard : Defense: Dixon Aircraft, which repairs engine parts for the Air Force’s largest cargo plane, is investigated. No charges are filed.

Federal agents Friday searched the offices of an Oxnard defense firm that repairs engine parts for the U.S. Air Force’s largest cargo plane, seizing records and engine parts as evidence, authorities said.

Agents from the FBI, Department of Defense and Air Force searched the offices and plant of Dixon Aircraft Components on Mountain View Avenue, said George Newhouse, an assistant U.S. attorney in Los Angeles.

Newhouse would not say what was taken from the small company, but sources said that corporate records and engine parts were seized.

Two federal teams involved in the search investigate contractor defense fraud--especially purchasing fraud--almost exclusively. But Newhouse said he could not comment on the scope of the inquiry because no charges have been filed and the investigation is continuing.

Agent affidavits in support of the search were sealed by a federal magistrate, Newhouse said.

Rudolph A. Dixon, who authorities said is the president and principal owner of Dixon Aircraft, could not be reached for comment Friday.

The federal inquiry is the third in the last year involving Ventura County defense contractors.

A Camarillo businessman pleaded guilty last fall to fraud in a continuing investigation of purchasing practices at Point Mugu Naval Air Station that may have cost the government $3 million.

And last February, the FBI searched the offices of Natel Engineering Co. in Simi Valley, which makes computer chips for missiles and aircraft, after a former employee alleged that some chips were not properly inspected.

Dixon Aircraft does business with both private aircraft firms and the military, Newhouse said. It sells engine parts and repairs engines, he said.

Dixon holds at least one Air Force contract to refurbish the metal liners that separate the combustion chamber of jet engines in the C-5B cargo plane from the engines’ moving parts, Newhouse said.

“The liner is the part that shields the heat in the combustion chamber from the rest of the engine, so it’s an important part,” Newhouse said.

He would not say what problems investigators suspect in the Air Force’s contract with Dixon, which he said is worth less than $1 million.

“It’s a relatively small contract,” Newhouse said. “This is a small company.”

A spokesman for General Electric, which made the engines for the C-5B and provides replacement parts, said that his company has been contacted by the FBI about the case.

“They contacted us to see how (Dixon) meets the specs,” spokesman Richard Kennedy said.

Kennedy said that a problem with one of the planes’ engines probably would not create a significant hazard.

“Fortunately, it’s a four-engine airplane so we’re in pretty good shape.”

The engines in C-5B planes--the backbone of the supply network for Operation Desert Storm during the Gulf War last year--are examined for wear about every 300 days, Newhouse said.

“The engines are overhauled by the Air Force and worn parts are repaired on site or shipped out to subcontractors to be refurbished,” the prosecutor said.

Dixon, which does assignment work for Kelly Air Force Base in San Antonio, Texas, is paid about $10,000 for each engine it repairs, he said.