Air traffic likely to be disrupted and many customers affected. 6,000 Airbus A320s, the world’s best-selling aircraft model, must be recalled in order to urgently replace control software vulnerable to solar radiation, the aircraft manufacturer said Friday evening. A shocking and sudden announcement that raises its share of questions.
What software is affected and what is it used for?
The software concerned is the elevator-aileron calculator (ELAC). Manufactured by Thales, it is one of the three computers essential to the proper functioning of an A320.
“Modern planes and even business planes are largely managed by computers,” assures Michel Polacco, ex-pilot and specialist in aeronautics. They serve as intelligent intermediaries between cockpit controls and the aircraft’s control surfaces.
“A pilot does not act directly on the control surfaces,” he continues. “Today, we act on computers to which we give orders and then, the computers analyze the situation and the position of the control surfaces, then modify it according to the objective which is sought by the pilot by the autopilot. »
When did he fail and how?
Last October 30, on a JetBlue flight between Cancun (Mexico) and Newark, near New York (United States). “While in cruise, the aircraft stalled and nosedived down for three seconds without the pilots touching anything,” recalls Michel Polacco, referring to a “totally abnormal” scenario.
Airbus teams launched an in-depth analysis of the incident and ended up discovering “that intense solar radiation could corrupt data essential to the operation of flight controls,” says the aircraft manufacturer.
Michel Polacco assures us: these computers are however “extremely protected from the outside”, distributed “in boxes” in different places in the structure of the plane.
Is this a first?
“This is the first time that an incident of this type has occurred on this type of aircraft and this system,” assures Michel Polacco. “Never have solar radiation had such an impact on the controllers and piloting software of a modern aircraft,” he continues.
According to the expert, this incident is a first for the A320 but also for other Airbus aircraft models. “It’s a totally exceptional event,” he repeats.
What are the consequences for air traffic?
Since its launch in 1984, Airbus has delivered more than 12,000 examples of its A320. So almost half of these planes on the market are recalled.
For most devices, changing software to its previous version will take “a few hours”. On the other hand, around 1,000 planes must change all the computer equipment, “which will take weeks,” a source close to the matter explained to AFP.
Air France has already announced the cancellation of 35 flights on Friday evening, and fears more significant disruptions this weekend. Customers affected by cancellations will be notified by SMS.