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Could a Cosmic Ray Have Triggered JetBlue’s Sudden Altitude Drop Over Florida?

01:25 AM, 12/06/2025

Investigators now say a cosmic-ray strike may explain the sudden altitude drop of a JetBlue flight over Florida last October, which injured more than a dozen people. Originally attributed to solar radiation, the new theory holds that a single high-energy particle could have flipped bits in flight-data electronics and helped trigger the dive. Airbus has released a software patch, and probes continue as safety experts assess whether further changes are needed.

New Theory Links Cosmic Ray To JetBlue Altitude Drop

Investigators are now considering that a single high-energy cosmic ray may have caused the sudden altitude drop aboard a JetBlue flight over Florida last October, an event that injured more than a dozen passengers. The incident initially drew attention as a possible effect of increased solar radiation, but researchers say a cosmic-ray hit could have flipped bits in onboard flight-data electronics, producing erroneous readings that contributed to the descent.

High-energy particles from space are known to occasionally cause "single-event upsets" in sensitive electronic components, altering binary data and potentially affecting system behavior. Aerospace specialists emphasize that such events are rare but a known engineering concern for avionics and other safety-critical systems.

"The fact that any ones or zeros in the programs could be scrambled around in any way just by radiation is worrisome. Especially if it can interdict the flight controls," said aviation analyst John Nance.

Airbus has issued a software patch intended to mitigate similar vulnerabilities, and investigators say the affected system otherwise operated as designed during the incident. Safety experts and regulators continue probing the exact sequence of events to determine whether a single-event upset played a decisive role and to recommend any further design or operational changes.

What This Means for Aviation Safety

While rare, particle-induced bit flips are a recognized risk in modern electronics. The industry uses redundancy, error correction and software mitigations to reduce the chance that a single upset will lead to a hazardous event. Ongoing investigations will inform whether additional hardware or procedural changes are needed to further strengthen avionics resilience.

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