From 'Icarus bug' to flawed panels: Airbus counts cost of relying on single model

From'Icarus bug' to flawed panels: Airbus counts cost of relying on single model PARIS - This week, Airbus got a brutal reminder that even the world's most-delivered jet -- the A320 -- isn't immune to shocks as disparate as solar flares and flawed metal. Days after recalling 6,000 A320-series planes over a software glitch linked to cosmic radiation, the European giant was forced to slash delivery targets when defects surfaced in some of their fuselage panels. The twin setbacks -- one rooted in astrophysics, the other in basic metallurgy -- underscore how fragile success can be for a planemaker that dominates the busiest corner of aviation and is on track to outpace Boeing for a seventh straight year. In a time of both misinformation and too much information, quality journalism is more crucial than ever. By subscribing, you can help us get the story right.