Noida (Uttar Pradesh) [India], November 30 : Former Indian Air Force pilot, Captain (Retd) Ehsan Khalid, described the software issue with the Airbus A320 fleet as a performance problem with the Elevator and Aileron Computer 2 (ELAC 2).
Speaking to ANI on the Airbus A320 flight simulator on Saturday, Captain (retd) Ehsan Khalid said that the ELAC 2 system showed no fault warnings, and the plane began moving without the pilot's input.
He said, "There are two flight control computers in the control panel: ELAC 1 and ELAC 2. ELAC 2 is not performing well according to the new software. Its function is to correctly convert the pilot's inputs, control the movement of the surfaces, and monitor faults in the flight control system. If any fault is found, it alerts the pilot so they can fly the plane in accordance with ELAC 1."
"The problem here is that the ELAC 2 system shows no warning of faults and the plane starts movements without the pilot's input," the aviation expert added.
On Saturday, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) issued an airworthiness directive banning the use of multiple Airbus aircraft models following concerns about a safety risk posed by the company's software update.
The Airworthiness directive was applicable for multiple other models of Airbus aircraft, including A319-111, A319-112, A319-113, A319-114, A319-115, A319-131, A319-132, A319-133, A319-151N, A319-153N, A319- 171N, A319-173N, A320-211, A320-212, A320-214, A320-215, A320- 216, A320- 231, A320-232, A320-233, A320-251N, A320-252N, A320-253N, A320-271N, A320-272N, A320- 273N, A321-211, A321- 212, A321-213, A321-231, A321-232, A321-251N, A321-252N, A321- 253N, A321-251NX, A321-252NX, A321-253NX, A321-271N, A321- 272N, A321-271NX and A321-272NX.
The European multinational aerospace company Airbus flagged a potential solar radiation risk, cautioning that intense radiation could corrupt data critical to flight control systems. The company also warned that a significant number of A320 family aircraft currently in service may be affected. Hence, in its statement, Airbus stated that it has been working proactively with aviation authorities to implement the necessary software and hardware protections to ensure the fleet remains safe to operate.
Following this, IndiGo announced the completion of a mandatory Airbus system upgrade across its entire A320-family fleet, confirming that all 200 aircraft are now fully compliant with the latest safety requirements.
Air India Express also said it had completed safety checks on most of its fleet, with the remaining checks to be completed soon.