Airbus, one of the world’s leading aircraft manufacturers, has issued a significant warning that could potentially affect numerous passenger planes globally.
On Friday, the aerospace giant revealed a potential issue with the onboard software of its Airbus A320 model during solar storms. This vulnerability might impede pilots’ ability to control or stabilize the aircraft mid-flight.
In response, Airbus has released an Alert Operators Transmission (AOT), a worldwide advisory urging all airlines operating the A320 to promptly update their software and hardware to enhance protection against radiation interference.
According to industry safety specialists, the issue first emerged during a JetBlue flight from Cancun, Mexico, to Newark, New Jersey. On October 30, the aircraft experienced an unexpected and severe drop in altitude, descending thousands of feet uncontrollably.
As a result of the incident, at least 15 passengers sustained injuries, and the aircraft was compelled to make an emergency landing in Florida.
An investigation, which included the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), determined that intense solar radiation had compromised crucial data within the flight control systems. This disturbance caused the aircraft to temporarily lose accurate positioning information, leading to the sudden descent.
Intense solar radiation in Earth’s atmosphere is often caused by solar flares or coronal mass ejections, which bombard the planet with powerful bursts of charged particles and electromagnetic energy.
These space weather events can sometimes interfere with satellites, GPS, radio signals, and, in this case, even the electronics inside modern aircraft flying at high altitudes.
Daily Mail has reached out to both Airbus and JetBlue for comment regarding the incident and how many flights may be grounded by the emergency warning.
Airbus has issued an emergency alert for the A320 passenger jet (Pictured) which could suffer electronics problems during solar storms
Intense solar activity in Earth’s atmosphere results from solar flares or coronal mass ejections striking the planet with charged particles that can damage electronic (Stock Image)
The A320 recently became the best-selling commercial aircraft in history, surpassing the Boeing 737. Industry experts fear the problem could impact 6,000 jets, according to Reuters.
‘Airbus acknowledges these recommendations will lead to operational disruptions to passengers and customers,’ the company wrote in a statement Friday.
The Airbus A320 family includes the A319, A320, and longer A321 models, and more than 12,000 have now been delivered around the world.
It is a narrow-body, twin-engine plane designed mainly for short and medium-haul flights, like New York to Los Angeles or London to Madrid, and is the aircraft flyers are most likely to board on a typical domestic or regional trip.
Depending on how each airline configures its seats, a single A320-family jet can carry anywhere from about 120 to 240 passengers, making it the airline workhorse that flies millions of people every day.
Flyers on social media have already begun to claim that their flights have been cancelled amid the mass A320 groundings.
On Reddit, one passenger allegedly on board an A321 posted that the airport in Istanbul, Turkey was filled with planes coming in for a landing, although it’s unclear if this was related to the Airbus software issues.
‘Captain says there are so many aircrafts on the ground, and we don’t know how long more we will need to wait to be able to leave the aircraft,’ the social media user said.
JetBlue Flight 1230, an Airbus 320, is believed to be the origin of the emergency warning, which affects all A320s that may be vulnerable to solar radiation (Pictured: A JetBlue A320)
Several passengers were injured on an October 30 JetBlue flight from Mexico to New Jersey after the plane suffered a control issue, the airline revealed
During the October 30 incident, JetBlue Flight 1230 was cruising at 35,000 feet when the solar radiation caused the uncontrolled drop.
One of the next radio transmissions revealed that the A320 was leveling off at 10,000 feet so the plane could land in Tampa, Florida.
The pilot also reported that multiple passengers had been injured, likely suffering cuts on their heads as the flight plummeted almost 25,000 feet.
‘JetBlue 1230 descending to 10,000, we’re leveling 297,’ the pilot said in audio obtained from the air traffic control transmission by CBS42.
‘We need medical equipment; we have at least three people injured, maybe a laceration in the head.’
Geomagnetic storms, a major cause of solar radiation, occur when massive eruptions of solar plasma temporarily disrupt Earth’s magnetic field, similar to a gust of wind shaking a flagpole.
These storms, caused by solar wind and coronal mass ejections, typically take one to five days to reach Earth, allowing scientists to predict their impact on the planet in advance.
Two weeks ago, a severe G4, the second-highest classification for solar storms, struck Earth and was feared to trigger widespread outages to phone networks and power grids.
