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PU 13: The Cosmic Ray That Broke the A320

PU 13: The Cosmic Ray That Broke the A320

Punching Upwards

December 7, 202534m 39sExplicit

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Show Notes

How a programming mistake in an avionics software update combined with a stray neutron from outer space to take down the best-selling passenger jet in the world. And no, it wasn’t a solar flare!

Punching Upwards, Episode 13 for 7 December 2025

Topic: Aviation

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Credits

Thanks to Michael Mullan-Jensen, Fadi Mansour and Evgeny Kuznetsov for subscribing to the podcast on Substack and supporting it financially! Additional thanks to Sir Galteran who continues to provide financial backing via Fountain.fm!

Sources

* Emergency Airworthiness Directive 2025-24-51, FAA, 28 November 2025

* Emergency Airworthiness Directive 2025-0268-E, EASA, 28 November 2025

* Accident: Jetblue A320 near Tampa on Oct 30th 2025, inflight upset causes injuries, The Aviation Herald, 31 October 2025

* Airbus rush to update A320 software after plane’s sudden altitude drop, France 24, 29 November 2025

* Should every computer chip have a cosmic ray detector? (archive.org copy), New Scientist, 7 March 2008

* Critical vulnerability in Airbus A320: downgrade or replace a Thales ELAC “before next flight” ✈️👊🌞🛬💥, Eye on Cyber, 29 November 2025

The theme music for the podcast is a track called Fight or Fall by Def Lev. Find out more about the show at fab.industries/podcast — new media, new rules!



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