Bit flips: How cosmic rays grounded a fleet of aircraft

undefined 2, 2025

Source: bbci

Cosmic radiation caused a computer “bit flip” on a JetBlue A320 in Oct 2025, triggering an uncommanded altitude drop and injuries. Airbus linked it to high-energy particles hitting flight-control electronics, leading to an emergency grounding of 6,000+ A320-family aircraft for software updates and some hardware replacements. Though the exact source of radiation is unclear, the incident highlights rising risks as smaller, chip-heavy systems grow more vulnerable.

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