An Air Canada Rouge Airbus A321-200 was flying from Cozumel, Mexico to Toronto Pearson International Airport on January 23 when problems with various flight systems became apparent. The problems were so severe that the crew declared MAYDAY diverting to Tampa, Florida.
En route at FL370 over the Gulf of Mexico and about 250 nm north of Cozumel, the flight crew began receiving “several error messages in a row” on the aircraft’s electronic centralized aircraft display (ECAM). The ECAM is used to monitor and display engine and aircraft system information to pilots. The Messages alerted the crew to problems with the aircraft’s ELAC (Elevator and Aileron Computer), stabilizer, autopilot and yellow hydraulic system. As a result of these problems, the aircraft’s fly-by-wire system changed back to ALTN LAW (Alternate Law) as standard.
The flight crew then declared a MAYDAY and diverted to Tampa International Airport. As the flight approached the airport, the aircraft’s flight control system was downgraded to Direct Law, where all protections (over/underspeed protection, pitch/bank angle limitations, etc.) are lost and the pilot must manually trim the plane. The pilots landed the plane safely on runway 01L in Tampa about 50 minutes after the problems occurred.
The Aircraft remains in Tampa as of January 28th 2023.
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