Airbus immediately recalled 6,000 A320 aircraft – more than half the model’s global fleet and the world’s best-selling model – on Friday night (28/11), with international air traffic implications.
The warning was issued after an internal analysis by the European planemaker found that a software issue may have contributed to the sudden loss of altitude of the plane operated by US low-cost carrier JetBlue in October.
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Reuters reported that the recall, directed at 350 operators, appears to be one of the largest in the company’s 55-year history, and comes just weeks after the A320 overtook the Boeing 737 as the most delivered model.
In most cases, the problem can be resolved by rolling back to a previous version of the software. But change must happen before planes can fly again. However, Airbus says it needs to make hardware changes for about 1,000 aircraft, which could take a few weeks.
The recall caused delays and cancellations of flights, especially in Asia, where A320 aircraft are widely used on short-haul flights, especially in India and China.
Some flights by European airlines such as Air France and Lufthansa were cancelled, while Colombian airline Avianca suspended ticket sales until December 8 after announcing that the recall affected more than 70% of its fleet.
In Brazil, where A320 aircraft are operated by Latam and Azul, the two companies announced that the recall will have no impact on domestic flights. But Latam said the recall affects “a limited number of aircraft belonging to subsidiaries in Colombia, Chile and Peru,” and that passengers will be informed of “any operational impact.”
Losing altitude on a JetBlue flight
The incident that led to the Airbus recall occurred on a JetBlue flight on October 30 en route from Cancun, Mexico, to Newark, New Jersey. The plane suddenly lost altitude, injuring all 15 people on board, and ended up making an early landing in Florida.
According to Reuters, internal Airbus documents attributed the problem to an aviation system called ELAC (an English acronym for “elevator and aileron computer”), which is necessary for climb and landing maneuvers.
The manufacturer concluded, after evaluating the incident, that intense solar radiation could corrupt data essential for the operation of the flight control devices of the A320 family of aircraft.
Read the complex article on DW, partner Capitals.