How did Airbus discover the problem?Published at 20:43 GMT
theo leggett
business correspondent
The issue was discovered after a JetBlue plane experienced a ‘sudden loss in altitude’ en route from Mexico to the United States in October.
The plane had to make an emergency landing, reports at the time revealed that 15 to 20 people suffered minor injuries.
The incident is believed to have been caused by intense solar radiation, which corrupted data in computers used to help control the aircraft.
Now action is being taken to avoid further problems. About 6,000 aircraft worldwide are believed to be affected, all of the A320 family, including the A319 and A321 models.
According to Airbus, most can be fixed with a relatively simple software update. However, approximately 900 older aircraft will need replacement computers, and will have to be taken out of service until they are fixed.
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