Airbus Warns A320 Fleet Needs Software Fix After Solar Incident

(Bloomberg) -- Airbus SE cautioned that a large part of its active A320 jetliner family fleet will require a software fix after a recent incident involving a Jetblue Airways Corp. airliner revealed that “intense solar radiation” could risk corrupting data that’s critical to maintaining functioning flight controls.

The company said a significant number of its A320 fleet, encompassing about 6,000 jets in total, may be impacted by the required fix, according to a statement sent by the European planemaker on Friday. 

“Airbus acknowledges these recommendations will lead to operational disruptions to passengers and customers,” the company said.

The advisory follows an incident on Oct. 30 involving a Jetblue aircraft that was flying from Cancun to Newark, New Jersey, that suffered a computer glitch that resulted in a sudden, unexpected downward pitch without pilot input. Nobody was injured in the incident, and the jet diverted to Tampa, Florida. 

The finding risks becoming a significant headache for Airbus, given the A320 family is the company’s by far most widely flown aircraft. According to people familiar with the situation, most of the jets can receive an uncomplicated update from the cockpit with minimal downtime. But about 1,000 older jets will need an actual hardware upgrade that can take much longer, said the people, asking not to be identified discussing non-public findings. 

Airbus declined to comment on the details and the duration of the fix.

The A320 is the competing aircraft to Boeing Co. 737 model, and the two jetliner families are the workhorses of the civil aviation industry. Airbus has already had to contend with engine issues on its newer A320neo jets, involving those built by Pratt & Whitney, that have forced hundreds of jets to be taken out of service temporarily for maintenance. 

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