The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has proposed a $3.7 million civil penalty against a manufacturer of automatic depenendent surveillance–broadcast (ADS-B) units that the FAA says did not meet its requirements. The company, NavWorx, also is accused of misleading customers about the products.
“The FAA has strict requirements for navigation units to ensure the reliability of the information they provide both to pilots and to air traffic controllers,” FAA Administrator Michael Huerta said Monday. “Customers of these products must be able to trust that their equipment meets our safety standards.”
The FAA noted that it told the aviation industry in March 2015 that it had changed the standards for the global positioning system (GPS) chips in ADS-B transmitters that aircraft owners are required to install before a Jan. 1, 2020, deadline.
“Rather than replace the chips in its ADS600-B units, NavWorx knowingly altered the units’ internal software to transmit a…
