Airbus has issued an urgent global alert about a software vulnerability in the A320‑family of jets, just ahead of the holiday travel season.
Europe’s Airbus (AIR.PA), opens new tab said on Friday it was ordering immediate repairs to 6,000 of its widely-used A320 family of jets in a sweeping recall affecting more than half the global fleet, threatening upheaval during the busiest travel weekend of the year in the United States.The setback appears to be among the largest recalls affecting Airbus in its 55-year history and comes weeks after the A320 overtook the Boeing 737 as the most-delivered model. At the time Airbus issued its directive, some 3,000 A320-family jets were in the air.The fix mainly involves reverting to earlier software, but it must be carried out before the planes can fly again, according to a bulletin to airlines seen by Reuters. Numerous airlines on Friday said the repairs could potentially cause flight delays or cancellations.The world’s largest A320 operator, American Airlines (AAL.O), opens new tab, said some 340 of its 480 A320 aircraft would need the fix. It said it mostly expected these to be completed by Saturday with about two hours required for each plane.
This recall was initiated after it was determined that intense solar activity could corrupt flight‑control data and potentially lead to spontaneous aircraft movements or loss of control.
Airbus found intense solar storms, like solar flares, could cause pilots to lose control of the Airbus A320 series of planes, including A319, A320, and A321s. About 6,000 of the single-aisle planes, which are the bestselling passenger aircraft in the world, need 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 in a statement.On October 30, JetBlue Flight 1230 – an A320 – 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 the hospital.Airbus investigated the incident and on Friday told airlines in an “Alert Operators Transmission” that the fix was needed. The company believes it is the only time this specific problem has happened, but says it “proactively worked with aviation authorities… keeping safety as our number one and overriding priority.”
This discovery was made in the wake of a solar storm on Oct. 29, which resulted in spectacular auroras that could be seen in both northern and southern latitudes that usually aren’t treated to these displays.
Get ready, aurora chasers! The northern lights could continue to dazzle tonight (Oct. 29), as a stream of fast solar wind from a large Earth-facing coronal hole continued to buffet Earth’s magnetic field, driving unsettled to active conditions.Forecasters at NOAA’s Space Weather Prediction Center (SWPC) predict possible minor (G1) geomagnetic storm conditions for Oct. 29 through Oct. 30, with a chance of stronger moderate (G2) storming if conditions intensify. The U.K. Met Office echoes this forecast, predicting that the northern lights could dip into latitudes around Scotland or the northern U.S., depending on the timing and strength of the incoming solar wind.A combination of fast solar wind from a large Earth-facing coronal hole and possible influence from a weak coronal mass ejection (CME) that arrived on Oct. 27, could cause solar wind speeds to climb significantly, potentially reaching 500-600 km/s, from Oct. 29 through Oct. 30 — great news for aurora chasers.
More recently, solar storms paired with a Coronal Mass Injection (CME) resulted in disruptions in radio communications and more social media sharing of aurora images.
The most immediate and significant effect of the event was a major disruption of radio communication in the regions facing the Sun. Following the solar flare, a severe radio blackout was recorded across Europe, Africa, and Asia, lasting approximately 30 minutes to one hour.A Ground Level Enhancement (GLE) was also observed, a rare phenomenon that occurs only once or twice per year. These events happen when solar particles are energetic enough to penetrate Earth’s magnetic shield, which normally protects us from less intense solar outbursts. High energy solar particles can harm astronauts, damage spacecraft and can produce a cascade of secondary particles in our atmosphere that could cause errors in electronic components if they reach the ground. This was only the 77th GLE since records began in the 1940s.
Image by perplexity.ai.
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