The United States (US) Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has warned airlines about counterfeit Rockwell Collins Traffic Collision Avoidance System or TCAS transmitters/receivers being sold on the market.
According to the FAA document “The parts sold throughout the US with counterfeit identification plates, are distributed by ‘Aviation Parts, LLC. of Moscow Russia. Here’s a warning to aircraft owners, operators, manufacturers, maintenance organizations, parts suppliers, brokers, and distributors” about the fake parts, which have part number 822-1293-XXX (TTR-921).”
Following the its Suspected Unapproved Parts (SUP) investigation since December 2021, FAA made the discovery that showed Aviation Parts, located in Moscow, Russia, sold a pair of TCAS transmitters/receivers that were reportedly overhauled.
After testing the altered receivers/transmitters, the FAA concluded that they were actually inoperable.
“Since December 2021, the FAA has received additional reports concerning TCAS Transmitters/Receivers identified as part number 822-1293-033 (TTR-921) being supplied by Aviation Parts,” the FAA’s document read.
The agency said that the counterfeit parts were being altered to resemble TCAS transmitters/receivers made by Rockwell Collins, by altering the outer housing and installing counterfeit identification plates to resemble the manufacturer’s identification plates.
“The FAA encourages aircraft owners, operators, manufacturers, maintenance organizations, parts suppliers, and distributors to inspect their aircraft and/or aircraft parts inventory for any articles (i.e., parts) that have been distributed by Aviation Parts,” the FAA added.
If a company does find such a part, they should be quarantined until they are approved for usage. Alternatively, stakeholders are advised to replace the transmitters/receivers with FAA-approved parts.