B61230 - Accident: Jetblue A320 near Tampa on Oct 30th 2025

A Jetblue Airbus A320-200, registration N605JB performing flight B6-1230 from Cancun (Mexico) to Newark,NJ (USA), was enroute at FL350 about 70nm westsouthwest of Tampa,FL (USA) when the aircraft experienced an inflight upset causing injuries to a number of people. The aircraft descended rapidly, briefly maintained about 20,000 feet and continued the descent for an approach to Tampa. The crew reported they had had flight control problems that caused at least three injuries, head injuries, on board. The aircraft landed on Tampa's runway 01L about 20 minutes after leaving FL350.

Jetblue reported the affected passengers were taken to hospitals, the others were checked by medical staff the airport. The aircraft is now being checked. A replacement aircraft continued the flight but needed to divert to La Guardia before reaching Newark.

A replacement A320-200 registration N537JT continued the flight but diverted to New York La Guardia first and reached Newark with a delay of about 11 hours.

In a service difficulty report submitted to the FAA the operator stated, that the Elevator Aileron Computer #2 (ELAC2) was identified faulty causing an uncommanded pitch down in cruise flight, the autopilot remained engaged. ELAC2 was replaced. Quote of the brief SDRS description: "FLT#1230, CUN-EWR. (AIRCRAFT DIVERTED TO TPA) "F/CTL ELAC 2 PITCH FAULT AIRCRAFT PITCHED DOWN UNCOMMANDED IN CRUISE FLIGHT. AUTOPILOT STAYED ON; PERFORMED INTEROGGATION OF FCDC SYS #2 IAW TSM 27-00-00-810-801-A. ACCORDING TO DFDR REPORTS, TECH SUPPORT IDENTIFIED ELAC #2 COMPUTER TO BE THE CAUSE. DUE TO DFDR, R/R ELAC SYS #2 IAW AMM 27-93-34. OPS CHK GOOD. TEST PASSED. NO FURTHER FAULTS NOTED AT THIS TIME. SYS OK FOR CONT SVC. ALL HYD FLUID QUANTITIES VERIFIED OKAY."

On Nov 7th 2025 the NTSB reported: "During cruise, the aircraft experienced an uncontrolled descent for approximately 4-5 seconds before the autopilot corrected the trajectory. This likely occurred during an ELAC switch change." The occurrence caused 10 injuries on board, the NTSB opened an investigation.

On Nov 28th 2025 Airbus released their Alert Operators Transmission (AOT) advising operators with Airbus aircraft equipped with ELAC B L 104, that their aircraft might be grounded by EASA anticipated Emergency Airworthiness Directive by Nov 29th 2025. Replacement of ELAC B L 104 with ELAC B L 103+ is needed. Airbus reasoned:

An Airbus A320 aircraft recently experienced an uncommanded and limited pitch down event.

The autopilot remained engaged throughout the event, with a brief and limited loss of altitude, and the rest of the flight was uneventful.

INVESTIGATION, ROOT CAUSE AND CONSEQUENCES

The subsequent investigation identified a vulnerability with the ELAC B hardware fitted with software L104 in case of exposure to solar flares.

This identified vulnerability could lead in the worst case scenario to an uncommanded elevator movement that may result in exceeding the aircraft structural capability.

Later Nov 28th 2025 EASA released their Emergency Airworthiness Directive 2025-0268-E with basically identical texting identifying Group 1 aircraft with ELAC B L 104 and Group 2 aircraft not having ELAC B L 104 installed requiring:

Replacement:

(1) For Group 1 aeroplanes: Before next flight after the effective date of this AD, replace or modify each affected ELAC with a serviceable ELAC in accordance with the instructions of the AOT.

A ferry flight (up to 3 Flight Cycles, non-ETOPS, no passengers) is permitted to position the aeroplane to a location where the replacement or modification can be accomplished.

Part(s) Installation:

(2) For Group 1 aeroplanes: After modification of the aeroplane as required by paragraph (1) of this AD, do not install an affected ELAC on that aeroplane.

(3) For Group 2 aeroplanes: From the effective date of this AD, do not modify any aeroplane into a Group 1 aeroplane.

On Jan 29th 2026 the NTSB released their preliminary report stating that 18 passengers and 4 cabin crew received minor injuries when the aircraft encountered an inflight upset causing a loss of about 100 feet of altitude due to a pitch excursion in smooth air.

Related Flight: B61230, JetBlue Airways News