On 30 October 2025, JetBlue Flight 1230, an Airbus A320 (reg N605JB) operating from Cancún to Newark, experienced a mid-air flight control issue, a sudden in-flight pitch down that forced the crew to declare an emergency and divert to Tampa International Airport. The aircraft lost altitude rapidly, several passengers and crew suffered injuries, and the crew requested medical assistance to meet the flight upon landing. JetBlue temporarily removed the aircraft from service pending inspection.
The incident has gained renewed attention because it occurred just weeks before Airbus disclosed that a recent A320 Family event had prompted a technical review into a potential issue with one of the aircraft’s Elevator Aileron Computers (ELAC). This review led Airbus to issue an Alert Operators Transmission advising operators to replace or modify the affected unit, followed shortly afterward by an Emergency Airworthiness Directive from EASA requiring certain A319, A320 and A321 aircraft to complete the replacement before next flight. While Airbus and EASA have not identified the aircraft involved in the triggering event, the timing has led to widespread industry focus on the JetBlue diversion. Read more in our full coverage of the A320 Emergency Directive that followed.
What the Official Records Say
The incident is now under formal investigation. A preliminary “notified event” published by the French BEA on behalf of the United States National Transportation Safety Board describes the occurrence as an “uncontrolled pitch down event for about 4-5 seconds before autopilot corrected.” ” and notes that this likely occurred during an ELAC switchover. The BEA entry lists the NTSB as the responsible investigative authority.
The Federal Aviation Administration has also confirmed that the flight diverted after the crew reported a “flight control issue” and says its own investigation is under way. No detailed NTSB or FAA report has been released yet.
Flight History Confirms Immediate Grounding
Flightradar24 data shows that the jet involved, Airbus A320-232 registered N605JB, diverted to Tampa during the emergency and did not operate its scheduled services the following day. Its planned 31 October flight from New York to Orlando was cancelled. The aircraft remained in Tampa until 3 November, when it operated flight JBU8644 from Tampa to Boston, which was a non-scheduled repositioning service. It returned to regular commercial operations the following day.
This sequence confirms the FAA’s statement that the aircraft was taken out of service after the event.
Additional Context from ATC Audio and Public Sources
Publicly available ATC audio archives from the day of the event capture the crew requesting medical assistance on arrival and referencing a flight control issue. These recordings are consistent with the FAA’s description of the diversion but are not official transcripts and do not add technical detail to the investigation.
How This Incident Fits Into the Wider A320 Safety Response
Media reporting and industry sources have widely suggested that this event was the “recent occurrence” referenced by Airbus when the manufacturer announced a precautionary review of flight-control computer behavior across the A320 Family. Airbus itself has not identified the aircraft or operator involved, but it has stated publicly that a recent event led to its analysis of data corruption risks in certain A320 Family configurations. That analysis preceded Airbus issuing an Alert Operators Transmission (AOT) and EASA releasing an Emergency Airworthiness Directive requiring certain aircraft to replace a specific Elevator Aileron Computer before next flight.
However, the connection between the JetBlue incident and the Airbus/EASA actions has not been officially confirmed. At this stage, the link remains widely reported but unverified, and the underlying investigations are ongoing.
Even without a confirmed causal link to the A320 fleet-wide directive, the JetBlue incident is noteworthy in its own right. Uncommanded pitch-downs under autopilot in modern fly-by-wire aircraft are extremely rare, and both U.S. authorities and international regulators have treated the event with clear urgency. The aircraft’s grounding, the interim BEA/NTSB entry, and the FAA investigation underline the seriousness of the anomaly.
The FAA and NTSB investigations remain open, and no technical findings have been released so far. As those inquiries progress, more detail will emerge about the sequence of events and the factors behind the mid-air pitch down.
Also Read: EASA Issues Emergency Directive for A320 Fleet, Calls for Action Before Next Flight
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