Airbus has issued an urgent Alert Operators Transmission (AOT) to airlines operating A320 Family aircraft, after an internal investigation revealed that intense solar radiation may corrupt certain flight-control related data under specific circumstances.
The European planemaker says the issue was identified following the analysis of a recent in-service event involving one aircraft. While Airbus has not disclosed further details about the incident, the manufacturer stresses that the discovery points to a potential vulnerability affecting “a significant number” of A320 Family jets currently flying worldwide.
Precautionary Measures and EASA Emergency Directive
In coordination with global aviation authorities, Airbus is asking operators to carry out immediate precautionary actions. These include installing available software updates and, where needed, hardware protections designed to prevent the data-corruption scenario.
EASA is expected to formalise these measures in an Emergency Airworthiness Directive, making the checks and protections mandatory for continued airworthiness.
Operational Disruptions Expected
Airbus warns that the required actions may cause temporary schedule disruptions for airlines and passengers. “We apologise for the inconvenience caused and will work closely with operators, while keeping safety as our number one and overriding priority,” the manufacturer said.