An aircraft used extensively by commercial airlines around the world needs a software solution to address an issue that contributed to the sudden altitude drop of a JetBlue plane last month, the manufacturer and European aviation safety regulators said Friday.
The move could result in some flight delays as U.S. travelers return home over the Thanksgiving weekend.
Airbus said an analysis of the JetBlue incident found that intense solar radiation could damage data critical to the functioning of flight controls on board the A320 family of aircraft.
The European Union Aviation Safety Agency has issued a directive requiring A320 operators to address the problem. The agency said this could cause a “short-term disruption” to flight schedules.
American Airlines has approximately 480 A320 family aircraft, of which 209 are affected. The repairs should take about two hours for many planes, and updates should be completed for the vast majority by Friday, the airline said. The rest will be finished on Saturday.
American Airlines expects some delays but said it is focused on limiting cancellations as customers return home from Thanksgiving holiday travel. It said safety would be the top priority.
Delta said it expected the problem to affect fewer than 50 of its A321neo aircraft. United said six planes in its fleet were affected and expected minor disruptions to some flights. Hawaiian Airlines said it was not affected.
Mike Stengel, a partner at aerospace industry management consultancy AeroDynamic Advisory, said the fix could be addressed between flights or during nighttime aircraft checks.
“Definitely not ideal for this to happen on a ubiquitous aircraft during a busy holiday weekend,” Stengel said. “Although the positive side is that it only takes a few hours to update the software.”
At least 15 JetBlue passengers were injured and taken to a hospital after the October 30 incident aboard the flight from Cancun, Mexico, to Newark, NJ. The plane was diverted to Tampa, Florida.
Airbus is registered in the Netherlands, but has its headquarters in France. Together with the American Boeing, it is one of the largest aircraft manufacturers in the world.
The A320 is the main competitor to Boeing’s 737, according to Stengel. Airbus updated its engine in the mid-2010s and aircraft in this category are called A320neo, he said.
The A320 is the world’s best-selling single-aisle aircraft family, according to Airbus’ website.
McAvoy writes for the Associated Press.
