Airbus finds another issue affecting its best-selling A320 passenger planes
Airbus has already come under scrutiny in recent days for requiring a software fix for its popular A320 series of planes after finding that intense solar storms, like solar flares, could cause pilots to lose control.
The A320 passenger plane assembly line at the Airbus factory in Hamburg, Germany, pictured on January 18, 2022. (Photo Credit: Morris MacMatzen/Getty Images/FILE via CNN Newsource)
London (CNN) — Airbus has identified an issue affecting “a limited number” of metal panels in its A320 passenger planes, a spokesperson for the company said Monday, just days after warning of another technical problem in its aircraft.
The plane manufacturer is inspecting all aircraft that are potentially impacted by what it called a “supplier quality issue,” but expects that only some of them will require further action be taken, the spokesperson told CNN.
“The source of the (metal panels) issue has been identified, contained and all newly produced panels conform to all requirements,” the spokesperson said, noting that the number of planes in service affected by the problem is “very limited.”
Reuters was first to report the finding Monday, citing industry sources. The Airbus stock fell after the report, building on earlier losses. Shares were last down 5.7%.
Airbus has already come under scrutiny in recent days for requiring a software fix for its popular A320 series of planes after finding that intense solar storms, like solar flares, could cause pilots to lose control.
Airlines around the world rushed to fix thousands of Airbus aircraft that needed immediate maintenance to protect from the pilot control problem, which caused an emergency landing and injured passengers in October. About 6,000 single-aisle planes needed the repairs.
“Analysis of a recent event involving an A320 Family aircraft has revealed that intense solar radiation may corrupt data critical to the functioning of flight controls,” Airbus said last week.
On October 30, JetBlue Flight 1230 – an A320 plane – was flying from Cancun, Mexico, to Newark, New Jersey, when it suddenly dove down in altitude. The pilots made an emergency landing in Tampa, Florida, where about 15 people were taken to a hospital.
On Monday, JetBlue said in a statement that it has “resumed normal operations” after making emergency software updates to its fleet of Airbus A320s.
“We’ve resumed regular operations after working through the requirements of the FAA airworthiness directive and do not anticipate any additional cancellations related to this,” JetBlue said in the statement. “We’re grateful for the incredible efforts of our crewmembers who worked around the clock to move quickly to make these updates, and we appreciate our customers’ patience and understanding throughout the process.”
Airbus said on its website Monday that the “vast majority” of those 6,000 or so planes had now “received the necessary modifications” and that it was helping airlines modify the fewer than 100 remaining.
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