Passengers sue Airbus after sudden altitude drop on JetBlue flight

Three passengers who were injured on a JetBlue Airbus A320 that experienced a loss of altitude in October 2025 are suing Airbus, alleging a defective flight control system caused the incident. The lawsuit stems from a sudden pitch-down event on JetBlue flight 1230 from Cancun, Mexico, to Newark, New Jersey, on Oct. 30, 2025. According to a preliminary report from the NTSB, the aircraft abruptly descended about 100 feet while cruising over the Gulf of Mexico. 18 passengers and four flight attendants were injured. The pilots declared an emergency and diverted to Tampa, Florida, where medical responders met the aircraft. JetBlue said the autopilot was engaged at the time of the event. Airbus specialists were later brought in to assist with the investigation, according to paddleyourownkanoo.com. On Nov. 28, 2025, Airbus issued an urgent alert to operators of A320-family aircraft warning that intense solar radiation could corrupt data in the aircraft's Elevator and Aileron Computer, or ELAC, potentially triggering uncommanded flight control inputs. The European Union Aviation Safety Agency subsequently directed airlines to implement a software rollback affecting an estimated 6,000 aircraft worldwide. Airbus said the issue was limited to its most recent ELAC software version, known as L104, and operators were instructed to revert to a previous stable version before returning aircraft to service. In their lawsuit, filed last month in federal court in Tampa, the plaintiffs dispute the solar radiation explanation and allege that Airbus and ELAC manufacturer Thales failed to properly test the software. The complaint describes the system as "defective in its design" and "unreasonably dangerous." The plaintiffs are suing Airbus and Thales for negligence and strict product liability. They are also suing JetBlue Airways under the Montreal Convention, which holds airlines liable for passenger injuries on international flights. The suit does not specify damages but states the claim exceeds $75,000. Airbus, Thales, and JetBlue have not yet responded to the lawsuit. The NTSB continues to investigate the incident and has not released a final report. RELATED ARTICLES:Flight attendant sues Delta Airlines over crash that flipped aircraft upside-downFamily files lawsuit against flight school after aircraft destroys houseSurvivor sues flight school over deadly 2023 crash