By Simgenur Akbolat
ISTANBUL (AA) - The US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) issued an Emergency Airworthiness Directive (EAD) on Saturday requiring the immediate software replacement or modification for certain Airbus A319 and A320/321 aircraft.
"The EAD requires replacing or modifying the software that controls the airplanes' elevator ailerons," the FAA said in a statement, adding the directive "is effective immediately."
Operators must complete the work before aircraft fly again by early Sunday local time, it said. The directive also prohibits installing the affected software on any aircraft.
The agency noted the action mirrors an earlier directive by the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA).
The European aircraft producer said it identified "a significant number of A320 Family aircraft currently in-service which may be impacted."
The emergency update was issued after an Oct. 30 JetBlue flight from Cancun, Mexico, to Newark, New Jersey, experienced flight control issues. The aircraft descended 100 feet in seven seconds and was diverted to Tampa, Florida, according to preliminary data from Flightradar24.
Airbus earlier directed an immediate precautionary software update for its A320 family after identifying that intense solar radiation could corrupt data critical to flight-control functions.