Airbus will have to review a mid-flight program for its A320s, some 6,000 aircraft.
The European aircraft manufacturer has detected an incident caused by exposure to sunlight.
BarcelonaEuropean aircraft manufacturer Airbus announced on Friday that it has detected an incident in a flight control program on its A320 aircraft, caused by exposure to sunlight, affecting more than half of the planes in its best-selling family. In a statement, the manufacturer said the problem could affect "a significant number of aircraft in the A320 family," but several industry sources estimate the number at around 6,000. A spokesperson for the airline told the EFE news agency that 85% of the affected aircraft will only require a minor software update that takes little time and will not significantly impact their flight schedules. The remaining 15% will require more extensive intervention, which will take more time and in some cases also involve equipment replacement, but the extent of the service impact has not been specified. "We are working with our customers and suppliers to limit the consequences of this incident," the spokesperson said.
The problem came to light after the analysis of a recent incident affecting one of the aircraft in this fleet, which "revealed that intense solar radiation can corrupt data essential to the operation of flight controls," Airbus stated without providing further details. Sources close to the investigation explained to EFE that this first error occurred on October 30 on a JetBlue flight between Cancún, Mexico, and Newark, New Jersey, forcing an emergency landing in Tampa, Florida.
The manufacturer assures that it has sent an alert to all companies affected by this problem to implement protection for the affected systems and ensure the safety of the fleet. The company acknowledged that implementing these recommendations "will cause operational disruptions for passengers and customers," and apologized to those affected. The Airbus spokesperson herself insisted that they had never experienced an incident of this type.
Software Error
Airlines affected by this software error will have to fix it before their next flight, with the exception of repositioning flights that have to return to a repair base, Airbus explained in a communication to airlines seen by Reuters. This document indicates that the problem originates in a computer known as ELAC (elevator and aileron computer; elevator and aileron computer (in Catalan), which sends commands to the elevators that control the pitch angle or nose of the aircraft. Its manufacturer, the French company Thales, has explained that this function in question is supported by software that is not its responsibility.
In response to this alert, the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) has issued an emergency airworthiness directive for the Airbus A320 family to address "a vulnerability introduced by a software update to one of its onboard computers." "These measures may cause temporary disruptions to flight schedules and, therefore, inconvenience to passengers. However, as always in aviation, safety is the top priority," the agency stressed in a statement.
