FAA: FreeFlight model FDL-978-XVR Failures

Scott Sherer

FAA Safety Team | Safer Skies Through Education

Airworthiness Concern Sheet - Regarding Latent Failure of FreeFlight Systems ADS-B Unit, Model Number FDL-978-XVR
Notice Number: NOTC9650
The Fort Worth Aircraft Certification Office has received reports of latent failures of FreeFlight model FDL-978-XVR ADS-B units. Troubleshooting determined that some units failed completely, while other units failed intermittently. Attempts to update the software and change any unit settings failed, as most parameters were “greyed out” and unable to be changed. Additionally, the failed units gave no indication of failure to the pilot.

This failure will result in loss of ability to see airspace traffic on the ADS-B display, or be seen by other aircraft on their ADS-B display, which may reduce the capability of the airplane or the ability of the crew to cope with adverse operating conditions to the extent that there may be a significant reduction in safety margins or functional capabilities.

The Fort Worth Aircraft Certification Office requests that any users of the FreeFlight Systems model FDL-978-XVR ADS-B units who have experienced similar failures contact the FAA point of contact listed above with the unit’s model, serial number, whether ADSB In and/or ADS-B Out fails to function, and whether or not an error was detected by the unit’s self-diagnostic.
Please read the linked document for further information.
https://www.faasafety.gov/files/notices/2019/Aug/Freeflight_ADS-B_issues_ACS.pdf
If you have experienced a failure with this equipment please contact:
Jacob Fitch
Aerospace Engineer
Fort Worth Aircraft Certification Office
(817) 222-4130
jacob.fitch@faa.gov