Thousands of passenger planes need to be fixed to avoid pilots losing control during a solar storm

Author's Summary

Thousands of popular Airbus A320 family aircraft worldwide require urgent software fixes after a solar storm incident caused pilot control loss, injuring passengers and forcing an emergency landing last month.

Incident Overview

Thousands of the world's most common passenger jets face an urgent maintenance need to prevent risks that harmed passengers and led to an emergency landing in October.

An Airbus A320 flight from Cancun, Mexico, to Newark suddenly dropped altitude, prompting a landing in Tampa, Florida, where about 15 people needed hospital care.

Airbus Findings

Airbus identified that intense solar storms, such as flares, can disrupt flight control data on A320 series planes—including A319, A320, and A321 models.

An analysis of a recent incident involving an A320 Family aircraft has indicated that intense solar radiation may disrupt data essential for the operation of flight controls.

Roughly 6,000 of these top-selling single-aisle aircraft now need repairs via fly-by-wire system updates.

Airline Responses

American Airlines, with around 340 affected planes, started software updates ahead of directives and plans completion by Sunday, expecting minor delays but few cancellations.

Delta Air Lines noted under 50 A321neo jets impacted, aiming to finish work by Saturday morning with limited operational effects.

European authorities issued an airworthiness directive requiring fixes before resuming passenger flights; most take about two hours.

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CNN on MSN CNN on MSN — 2025-11-29

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