By Admin 
Airbus A320 family aircraft around the world are suddenly being grounded for massive software and hardware upgrades. The reason for this is a serious technical flaw, which is directly related to the safety of the aircraft. A recent incident in an Airbus A320 flight has worried the entire aviation sector.
What happened in Airbus A320? How did the threat emerge?
This problem came to light in the A320 flight of a private airline going from Cancun to New York when the plane suddenly tilted downwards at an altitude of thousands of feet. The pilot had not given any such command, but there was a strong shock in the cabin and the passengers jumped from the seats. Several people were injured and the flight had to be emergency diverted to Tampa. Investigation found that the malfunction occurred during switching of the ELAC flight control computer, which read incorrect pitch data.
EASA issued an Emergency Airworthiness Directive on 28 November, ordering the immediate removal of the old ELAC computer (model B L104) and replacement with a newer, safer model (B L103+). Planes which have outdated systems will not be allowed to fly. Only limited ‘ferry flights’ will be allowed if necessary.
It has a big impact in India also
It has had a big impact in India too, because the country is the world’s largest operator of A320. Around 200 aircraft of IndiGo and 100–125 aircraft of Air India are currently grounded or in limited operation due to the upgrade and inspection process. Air India has warned passengers that this may delay flights and affect schedules.
What did the joint investigation by Airbus and EASA find?
A joint investigation by Airbus and EASA found that increased solar radiation at altitude caused a ‘bit-flip’ i.e. data corruption in the chip of the ELAC computer. Due to this the computer read wrong signals and the plane started tilting downwards despite being in autopilot mode.
Airbus A320 counted among the safest aircraft in the world
The Airbus A320 is counted among the world’s safest and most advanced fly-by-wire systems, but this incident has exposed the sensitivity of its most important part, the ELAC computer. Globally, approximately 6000 aircraft are undergoing this upgrade process. While the new A320neo will take only 30 minutes to update the software, the older models may take 2–3 days to update both hardware and software.
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