FAA suspends NavWorx TSO authorization

The agency suspended the company’s technical standard order authorization for NavWorx ADS600-B units carrying part numbers 200-0012 and 200-0013. The FAA said that NavWorx "declined on repeated occasions" to allow FAA personnel to conduct required inspections, and that the immediate suspension will remain in effect until the company consents to the inspections and demonstrates compliance with FAA standards.

NavWorx President Bill Moffitt did not immediately respond to a request from AOPA for comment about the suspension of the company’s TSO authorization.

The FAA said in a press release that it is concerned those products may contain an internal GPS receiver that does not meet the FAA’s minimum ADS-B performance standards for transmitting aircraft position. The FAA on Oct. 20 proposed an airworthiness directive that would require removing the UATs from the aircraft in which they have been installed, and would prohibit their installation on any aircraft. That followed an FAA unapproved parts notification issued Oct. 14. The FAA estimated that approximately 800 U.S.-registered aircraft would be affected by the proposed AD.

NavWorx ADS-B transceivers with part numbers 200-0112 and 200-0113 contain a different WAAS GPS position source and are not subject to the proposed AD or the unapproved parts notification, the FAA said. NavWorx can continue to produce transceivers with those part numbers.

“If you have one of these units installed in your aircraft, this emergency order does not impose any requirements on you. You should continue to wait for resolution of the proposed AD,” said Justin Barkowski, AOPA director of regulatory affairs. If you own an affected unit but have not installed it, he recommends that you wait until the proposed AD is resolved before installing it in your aircraft.

The FAA said that because of the company’s unwillingness to comply with inspection requirements, it has determined that NavWorx’s continued use of its TSO authorization is "contrary to the interests of safety in air commerce." The full text of the FAA’s emergency order of suspension is available online. During the suspension, NavWorx "may not mark or otherwise indicate" that the specified ADS600-B units meet FAA standards, the FAA said.