The DGCA issues an urgent safety directive after a global Airbus A320 glitch linked to solar radiation risks uncommanded elevator movements. Find out how this mandatory update impacts 338 aircraft operated by IndiGo, Air India, and flight schedules across India this weekend.
Airbus A320 Glitch DGCA Safety Directive India
The Indian skies are witnessing an unprecedented, rapid-response safety exercise as the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has issued a critical Mandatory Modification order. This stringent directive targets the widely used Airbus A320 family aircraft, following an alarming discovery of a global Airbus A320 glitch that affects critical flight control systems. The glitch, which has forced the temporary grounding of 338 aircraft belonging to major Indian carriers, is tied to a rarely anticipated phenomenon: the risk of intense solar radiation corrupting vital data.
The core of the issue lies within the aircraft’s Electronic Flight Control System (EFCS), specifically the Elevator and Aileron Computer (ELAC). Investigators traced the vulnerability after a recent international incident where an A320 experienced an uncommanded, sudden pitch-down event. Airbus subsequently determined that high levels of solar activity could potentially corrupt the data processed by the ELAC unit, leading to an uncommanded elevator movement that could, in a worst-case scenario, exceed the aircraft’s structural limits. This finding has triggered one of the largest aircraft grounding operations in the history of civil Aviation Safety.
In India, the DGCA acted immediately, translating the European Union Aviation Safety Agency’s (EASA) Emergency Airworthiness Directive into a non-negotiable compliance order for domestic operators. The mandate prohibits the operation of the affected A319, A320, and A321 variants until the specified software and, in some older models, hardware modifications are completed. According to the data provided to the regulator, a total of 338 aircraft operated by IndiGo, Air India, and Air India Express require immediate rectification.
