'Intense Solar Radiation': Airbus Explains A320 Malfunction Amid Global Flight Disruption

In the wake of the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) issuing the global mandate to update the module of the Airbus A320 aircraft before resuming commercial operations - a move set to impact over 6,000 planes worldwide - Airbus has issued an official statement.

The French-based aerospace and defence company has acknowledged the malfunction, stating that solar radiation may have contributed to a fault in the Elevator and Aileron Computer (ELAC), thus leading to incorrect data.

"Analysis of a recent event involving an A320 Family aircraft has revealed that intense solar radiation may corrupt data critical to the functioning of flight controls.

"Airbus has consequently identified a significant number of A320 Family aircraft currently in-service which may be impacted," Airbus said in a statement.

This falls in line with EASA's notification that had cited Airbus' investigation of an October incident where an Airbus A320 experienced a sudden and unexpected drop in altitude.

This was linked to a fault in the ELAC unit - in particular the ELAC B L104 - and is primarily seen across the Airbus A320 model.

In order to resolve the problem, the directive mandates the replacement of the affected units with a serviceable "ELAC B L103+" version or the application of specific software modifications.

EASA has furthed stated in order for an A320 to resume operations, the airline must replace the ELAC module and those running the older hardware must get removed from commercial service immediately.