EASA SIB No: 2013-07
EASA Safety Information Bulletin
SIB No.: 2013-07
Issued: 09 July 2013
Subject: Mode S Transponders – Capability Reporting Anomaly
Ref. Publications: Rockwell Collins Service Information Letter (SIL) 12-1, dated
20 March 2012; Service Bulletin (SB) TDR-94( )-34-504
Revision 3, dated 5 April 2007, and SB TDR-94( )-34-505
dated 2 September 2008.
Applicability: Rockwell Collins Mode S transponders, identified by type and
Part Number (P/N) in the table below, if installed in aircraft
which do not have ACAS II equipment.
Type P/N (all serial numbers)
622-9352-007
TDR-94 622-9352-008
622-9352-108
622-9210-007
TDR-94D 622-9210-008
622-9210-108
Note: In aircraft which have an operational ACAS II installed, these
transponders operate correctly with regard to anomalous capability
reporting.
The affected transponders are known to be installed on, but
not limited to, aircraft certificated under (FAR, JAR, CS) Parts
23, 25, 27 or 29.
Description: Certain Rockwell Collins Mode S Air Traffic Control (ATC)
transponders TDR-94 and TDR-94D (see P/Ns in table above)
are capable of Elementary and Enhanced Surveillance (ELS
and EHS). However, the transponders incorrectly set the
Capability (CA) Field (“transponder capability”) to zero when
the aircraft is not ACAS II equipped.
Some ATC ground stations use the CA field to determine if the
transponder is capable of ELS and/or EHS. Consequently,
when an aircraft with an affected TDR-94/94D transponder is
This is information only. Recommendations are not mandatory.
TE.CAP.00117-003 © European Aviation Safety Agency. All rights reserved. 1/2
Proprietary document. Copies are not controlled. Confirm revision status through the EASA-Internet/Intranet.
EASA SIB No: 2013-07
operating in airspace that uses the CA field to determine
ELS/EHS capability, ground stations will not interrogate the
transponder with the Ground Initiated Comm B (GICB) request.
To these ground stations, the transponder will appear as not
being capable of ELS/EHS.
If the transponder cannot provide ELS parameters, the aircraft
identification (A/C ID) is also not available. This causes
problems for the ATC controller because the aircraft cannot be
identified or correlated with its flight plan data.
Another problem, resulting from the transponders setting the
CA field to zero, relates to the display of false tracks on ground
radars. This is particularly noticeable when several aircraft
(equipped with affected TDR-94/94D transponders) are in
close proximity. The ground radars are unable to confirm the
transponder’s SI capability and, therefore, cannot apply lockout
which results in garbling and the generation of false tracks.
At this time, insufficient information is available to determine
whether the safety concern described in this SIB can be
considered an unsafe condition that would warrant
Airworthiness Directive (AD) action under EC 748/2012, Part
21.A.3B.
Nevertheless, anomalous capability reporting, when such
information is used by SSR Mode S ground interrogators,
could cause increased workload for the ATC controllers.
Recommendations: EASA recommends that the transponder upgrade, as specified
in the referenced SIL, is accomplished at the earliest
opportunity. Contact Rockwell Collins to coordinate the
incorporation of the appropriate SB, as applicable to the
installation.
Please note that the referenced SIL also contains instructions
for implementing a wiring interface change, in lieu of a
transponder upgrade. Whilst the wiring interface change has
the desired effect of correctly setting the CA Field, the
transponder Built in Test (BIT) log will contain many TCAS Fail
reports after every flight. Operators are advised to discuss with
Rockwell Collins before considering this option. Also, EASA
are aware that this option will not work for aircraft which
operate with a single Gilham coded altitude.
Contacts: For further information contact the Safety Information Section,
Executive Directorate, EASA; E-mail: ADs@easa.europa.eu.
For copies of any service publication referenced in this SIB,
please contact Rockwell Collins Inc., 400 Collins Road NE,
Cedar Rapids, Iowa 52498, United States of America,
telephone +1-319-265-5467
Website: www.rockwellcollins.com
Email: response@rockwellcollins.com.
This is information only. Recommendations are not mandatory.
TE.CAP.00117-003 © European Aviation Safety Agency. All rights reserved. 2/2
Proprietary document. Copies are not controlled. Confirm revision status through the EASA-Internet/Intranet.
