Toy Manufacturer Scrutinized For Fighter Jet That Plays Islamic Hajj Prayers Instead Of Jet Noises

By Darren Smith, Weekend Contributor

One concept that local producers seem to miss when dealing with Chinese manufacturers is Quality Assurance, something that often must be addressed at higher levels and greater frequency than what is customary in the United States. The allure of fast turnaround and cheap production costs often blinds companies to underlying problems. Examples include asbestos in crayons, cadmium in toys, toxic dog treats, and even the bizarre examples such as a shaved dog substituted for a lion.

 

KING5 News reports of a local father who purchased from Amazon a Wolvol Air Combat Ace F-16 toy fighter jet. Unexpectedly, instead of jet sounds, the toy played Islamic prayers.

Nadeem Israr, President of the Islamic Society of Whatcom County, explained: “This is a prayer you’re supposed to say when you’re performing Hajj.”

I would expect such an event to be troubling for those of the Muslim religion as the Hajj is one of the highest forms of devotion and is to be practiced at least once in the lifetime of the faithful, if they are able.

From a quality control perspective I have difficulty accepting the notion of this being an unintentional act by an employee at the Chinese factory. The toy does not sound remotely like a jet and even if one does not understand the Arabic language spoken, lacking many of the phonetics within the various dialects of the Chinese Language, it is obvious this is a human voice. Moreover, it is probable the sound file loaded into the toy came from a download from the internet. I doubt a mistake was made between Jet and Hajj via file name. If this came from a particular batch of the toys, especially if it was not the first batch produced, it would be strong evidence of employee tampering.

The Wolvol company website did not feature this jet when I reviewed the site.

Many companies are better served to have QA personnel in China on the production line or hire reputable QA providers in the country to review manufacturing and perform random tests of the product. It doesn’t pay to simply make an order that is directly shipped to a reseller such as Amazon, which Wolvol’s website which shows a direct link to Amazon for ordering of each of their toys. I believe this might have been the cause of a breakdown in the Quality Assurance chain.

Click HERE for the article along with video of the toy.

By Darren Smith

Source: KING5 News

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