Airlines adopt software fix for Airbus A320 after plane has sudden altitude drop

• Airplane-maker upgrades about 6,000 operational A320 aircraft after incident on JetBlue flight last mont
• The faulty software, the Elevator and Aileron Computer (ELAC), is made by aerospace and defense giant Thales.

An aircraft heavily used by commercial airlines around the world needs a software fix to address an issue that contributed to a sudden drop in altitude of a JetBlue plane last month, the manufacturer and European aviation safety regulators said Friday.

The step may result in some flight delays as US travelers return home from the Thanksgiving holidays.

Airbus said an analysis of the JetBlue incident revealed intense solar radiation may corrupt data critical to the functioning of flight controls on the A320 family of aircraft. The European Union Aviation Safety Agency issued a directive requiring operators of the A320 to address the issue. The agency said this may cause “short-term disruption” to flight schedules.

The faulty software, the Elevator and Aileron Computer (ELAC), is made by aerospace and defense giant Thales.

“Airbus acknowledges these recommendations will lead to operational disruptions to passengers and customers,” the planemaker said, apologizing for the inconvenience.

American Airlines has about 480 planes from the A320 family, of which 209 are affected. The fix should take about two hours for many aircraft and updates should be completed for the overwhelming majority on Friday, the airline said. A handful will be finished Saturday.

American Airlines expects some delays but it said it’s focused on limiting cancelations as customers return home from Thanksgiving holiday travel. It said safety would be its overriding priority.

Delta said it expected the issue to affect less than 50 of its A321neo aircraft. United and Hawaiian Airlines said they weren’t affected. Mike Stengel, a partner with the aerospace industry management consulting firm AeroDynamic Advisory, said the fix could be addressed between flights or on overnight plane checks.

“Definitely not ideal for this to be happening on a very ubiquitous aircraft on a busy holiday weekend,” Stengel said. “Although again the silver lining being that it only should take a few hours to update the software.” At least 15 JetBlue passengers were injured and taken to the hospital after the Oct. 30 incident on board the flight from Cancun, Mexico, to Newark, New Jersey. The plane was diverted to Tampa, Florida.

Airbus is registered in the Netherlands but has its main headquarters in France. It’s one of the world’s biggest airplane manufacturers alongside Boeing.

The A320 is the primary competitor to Boeing’s 737, Stengel said. Airbus updated its engine in the mid-2010s and planes in this category are called A320neo, he said. Produced since 1988, the A320 is the best-selling airplane globally, with Airbus selling 12,257 of the aircraft by the end of September compared to the sale of 12,254 Boeing 737s.

PARIS: Airbus on Friday warned of potential travel disruption as it upgrades some 6,000 operational A320 aircraft, after an incident on a JetBlue flight last month.

The European plane-maker on Friday instructed its clients to take “immediate precautionary action” after evaluating the incident.

“Intense solar radiation may corrupt data critical to the functioning of flight controls,” Airbus stated, adding that “a significant number of A320 Family aircraft currently in-service” may be affected. Replacing the software will take “a few hours” on most planes but for some 1,000 aircraft, the process “will take weeks,” a source close to the issue told AFP.

The faulty software, the Elevator and Aileron Computer (ELAC), is made by aerospace and defense giant Thales. “Airbus acknowledges these recommendations will lead to operational disruptions to passengers and customers,” it said, apologizing for the inconvenience.

On October 30, a JetBlue-operated A320 aircraft encountered an in-flight control issue due to a computer malfunction. The plane suddenly nosedived as it traveled between Cancun in Mexico and Newark in the United States, and pilots had to land in Tampa, Florida.

US media quoted local firefighters saying that some passengers were injured. Produced since 1988, the A320 is the best-selling airplane globally, with Airbus selling 12,257 of the aircraft by the end of September compared to the sale of 12,254 Boeing 737s.