European aircraft manufacturer Airbus has identified a significant production issue affecting the fuselage panels of dozens of aircraft in the A320 family. The production error has caused delays in some aircraft deliveries, but no issues have been found with the aircraft already in operation. However, the root cause of the problem has yet to be definitively determined.
Production Issue and Delayed Deliveries
According to Reuters, due to this production flaw, Airbus produced fewer aircraft than expected in November. The company manufactured only 72 aircraft that month, bringing the total number of aircraft produced during the year to 657. Airbus had previously announced an annual production target of “around 820 aircraft.”
Critical Fault Found in 6,000 Aircraft
At the end of November, Airbus identified a software issue in 6,000 of its aircraft that caused the plane’s computer system to incorrectly determine its position due to solar radiation at high altitudes. This critical problem was mostly resolved with a software update, but hardware changes were made to approximately 1,000 aircraft. As a result, hundreds of flights worldwide were delayed or cancelled.
Problem Nearing Resolution
As of December 1, Airbus announced that the issue had been resolved on nearly all affected aircraft, with only about a hundred planes still experiencing the fault. The company confirmed that all necessary steps had been taken to ensure the safety of the aircraft and that flight operations had returned to normal.
