Centre of gravity concerns on Airbus A320neo

By September 12, 2019 January 16th, 2020 General News

Lufthansa has stopped selling the last row of seats on its Airbus A320neos due to issues regarding the aircraft’s centre-of-gravity limitations.

This move comes after Lufthansa pilots were reportedly given an internal memo that suggested blocking off the last row of passenger seats. Although a temporary solution, it follows an airworthiness directive from European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA), according to Air Transport World.

Following concerns regarding the C-of-G issues with the A321neo, the EASA announced a similar issue with the A320neo.

After a series of tests conducted by EASA, the A320neo was found to be susceptible to a AoA protection weakess. Under certain conditions and manoeuvers, the aircraft’s aileron, elevator, and the elevator and aileron computer software compensator showed a defect.

The new finding comes on the back of a similar excessive pitch anomaly that occurs under the same circumstances with the A321neo.

The findings are in no way similar to what occurred on the Boeing MAX, and at no time on the A320neo does the computer override the actions of the pilot flying the aircraft. This is in direct contrast to the Boeing MAX and it MCAS anti-stall prevention system which inhibits the pilot’s intervention during an excessive pitch-up situation.

While EASA has not issued a critical directive, the airlines are allowed to still fly the A320neo and are taking steps to temporarily address the problem until Airbus come up with a long-term solution.