Airbus A320 aircraft return to service after software update

Airbus A320 aircraft are able to fly again. Less than 72 hours after European regulators issued an emergency airworthiness directive, the global aviation industry has largely eliminated a serious flight control vulnerability.

The problem affected about 6,000 Airbus A320 family aircraft — more than half the global fleet, writes xrust. The crux of the matter is a software error in the latest aileron control standard. Experts suspect sunlight is the culprit. It damaged critical data. Well, not directly affecting the software.

The defect first appeared on October 30, when a JetBlue A321 flying from Cancun to Newark suddenly “failed” at an altitude of 36,000 feet, resulting in injuries to several passengers. The crew regained control and headed safely to Tampa.

By the evening of November 30, Airbus reported that more than 5,100 of the approximately 6,000 affected aircraft had already received the fix. This means that 85% of the work was completed in less than 48 hours.

The remaining 900 aircraft are older A320ceo models, requiring physical replacement of computers rather than a simple software reinstallation. The work is expected to be completed by the middle of the weekend of December 6-7.

Xrust Airbus A320 aircraft return to service after software update