European regulators have ordered airlines to take immediate action on Airbus A320 Family aircraft after an investigation linked a recent uncommanded pitch-down event to a potential fault in a key flight-control computer.
The European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) published an Emergency Airworthiness Directive (EAD) on November 28, 2025, requiring operators to replace or modify a specific Elevator Aileron Computer (ELAC B L104) before the aircraft’s next flight. The directive follows an Alert Operators Transmission issued by Airbus the same day.
JetBlue incident reportedly triggered the investigation
The directive reportedly stems from an incident on October 30, 2025, involving a JetBlue A320-200, registration N605JB, operating flight B6-1230 from Cancun (CUN) to Newark (EWR). While cruising at FL350 about 70 nautical miles southwest of Tampa (TPA), the aircraft experienced an inflight upset described by the crew as a flight-control problem. The aircraft descended rapidly, levelled briefly around 20,000 feet, and then continued descending for a precautionary landing in Tampa.
According to initial reports, at least three people on board sustained injuries, including head injuries, during the upset. Passengers requiring treatment were taken to local hospitals, while others were assessed at the airport. JetBlue dispatched a replacement aircraft, which later diverted to La Guardia (LGA) before continuing to Newark, arriving with significant delay.
Airbus’s preliminary assessment identified a malfunction of the ELAC installed on the aircraft as a possible contributing factor. Regulators warn that such a malfunction, if uncorrected, could in extreme cases trigger uncommanded elevator movement severe enough to risk exceeding the aircraft’s structural limits.
Mandatory replacement before next flight
EASA has designated all A319, A320 and A321 variants equipped with the affected ELAC as “Group 1” aircraft. For these, airlines must remove and replace the computer with a serviceable version (ELAC B L103 or higher) before the aircraft can return to passenger service. The directive allows a short ferry flight of up to three cycles, without passengers, solely to reposition the aircraft for maintenance.
Aircraft that do not feature the affected hardware are prohibited from being modified back into a configuration that would reintroduce the older ELAC standard.
Airbus links vulnerability to solar-radiation data corruption
Airbus said its analysis indicated that intense solar radiation may, under specific conditions, corrupt flight-control data processed by the affected ELAC standard. The company has identified a significant number of in-service A320 Family aircraft as potentially susceptible and requested immediate precautionary action from operators.
Airbus acknowledged that the required work will cause operational disruption but said safety remains its overriding priority.
Short-term disruptions expected across global fleets
While the number of affected aircraft has not been publicly disclosed, the broad applicability of the directive means airlines are expected to face near-term scheduling challenges as ELAC replacements are carried out. The A320 Family remains the most widely used single-aisle fleet globally, and the “before next flight” requirement is likely to create pressure on maintenance capacity in the coming days.
Airbus said it is working closely with operators and regulators to ensure the fleet remains safe to fly.
2 comments
apparently we live in a society where the facts absolutely do NOT matter. I think it is safe to say this was the last gasp of regulators seeing any respect at all , as well, with the EASA taking a tough stance, and many scratching their heads why so tough with that deadline. As expected, it was political and likely more representative of the EU leaders feeling very tiny on the world stage, and pouncing on what they saw as an opportunity to remind the world that Europe matters. Ever minute beyond the 1159pm deadline from Saturday, that we do not hear a simple update that covers the entire 10000 aircraft fleet, with more than Avianca mentioned, the EU continues to alternatively remind of the initial truth, the EU does not matter to the world at all. Also, in extremely sad state we find our ‘reporting’ as website after website is clearly AI and pulling the same exact verbiage verbatim to display to us. We see it and it renders ALL of these supposed individual sites completely worthless.
Totally agree lot of fact being hidden in this story, i.e. why on Friday night this was issued? Lower s/w version is more safe to solar flares, if yes why? Why was deadline to downgrade ELAC sw so tight? Due increased solar activity expected on Sunday?