Space weather in focus after Airbus fleet recall, experts raise questions about solar flare theory

Aerospace giant Airbus recalling about half of its global fleet over a commercial plane’s sudden altitude drop brings into sharp focus the importance of space weather in flight safety, even as experts raise questions about the company’s analysis that a powerful solar flare caused damage to flight software.

An A320 aircraft unexpectedly lost altitude during a Mexico-US flight on October 30, injuring 15 passengers. In a statement on November 28, Airbus linked the incident to damage suffered by flight software due to “intense solar radiation”.