WASHINGTON, Nov 29 (KUNA) -- The US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) issued an Emergency Airworthiness Directive (EAD) for certain Airbus A319 and A320/321 models.
The directive, effective immediately, requires replacing or modifying the software that controls the airplanes' elevator ailerons. "Operators must perform the work before the airplane flies again by 12:01 a.m. on Sunday, November 30," FAA said in a statement on Saturday.
The directive also prohibits installing the affected software on any aircraft.
The FAA's action mirrors an EAD from the European Union Aviation Safety Agency, which certificates Airbus airplanes.
Airworthiness Directives are legally enforceable regulations issued by the FAA in accordance with 14 CFR part 39 to correct an unsafe condition in a product.
Today's action coincides with heavy air traffic in the United States due to Thanksgiving celebrations.
It followed a global technical directive issued by Airbus and requiring mandatory updates to several safety-related systems on A320, one of the most widely used aircraft. (end) asj.fas.gb