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The engine fire shutoff buttons on Airbus aircraft<\/p>\nThe BALPA pilots\u2019 union, which represents flight crew at several airlines, including British Airways, Virgin Atlantic, and EasyJet, has issued a warning about a serious and \u2018potentially catastrophic\u2019 fault on popular Airbus airplanes.<\/p>\n
The warning stems from an incident in December 2024, when the right-hand engine of an Airbus A320neo aircraft operated by Air New Zealand with 142 passengers and six crew members on board, suddenly shut down just 15 minutes after takeoff.<\/p>\n
The engine fire shutoff buttons on Airbus aircraft<\/p>\n
After declaring a Mayday, the pilots discovered that one of the engine fire buttons that isolates power to the engine had activated. The buttons hadn\u2019t been touched by either pilot, and the buttons are not meant to activate automatically.<\/p>\n
Investigators later discovered that a retaining pin inside the push button mechanism had been bent due to mishandling when it was fitted in the cockpit. Normal day-to-day vibration during flight caused the bent pin to pop out, causing the button to activate without being manually pushed.<\/p>\n
The European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) issued an airworthiness directive that required airlines to inspect the engine fire shutoff buttons on affected aircraft and replace the module if a bent pin was found.<\/p>\n
You might think that would be the end of the matter, but BALPA says a similar incident occurred on a packed British Airways Airbus A350-1000 aircraft flying from Las Vegas to London Heathrow in February.<\/p>\n
As the aircraft flew at cruising altitude over Halifax, Canada, and with the Captain sleeping in the bunk, the two other pilots suddenly found themselves dealing with a mid-flight emergency after the right-hand engine suddenly lost power.<\/p>\n
Messages popped up on the cockpit\u2019s Electronic Centralised Aircraft Monitor (ECAM), but the messages \u201cwere brief and did not initially indicate an engine failure.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAfter the captain returned, the crew attempted an in\u2011flight relight, which was not possible until the fire switch was pushed back in, following advice from Maintrol (maintenance control). The relight succeeded, systems stabilised, and the crew elected to continue to Heathrow,\u201d the warning from BALPA explains.<\/p>\n
It should be noted that the airworthiness directive issued by EASA currently only covers certain narrowbody planes like the Airbus A319, A320, and A320. The widebody A350, which was involved in the February incident, is not covered by the original airworthiness directive.<\/p>\n
However, BALPA says that similar engine fire panels appear on A350 aircraft as those that are installed on narrowbody aircraft.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is a serious mechanical defect, and it\u2019s completely latent \u2013 no ECAM cue until the moment it happens. So far, outcomes have relied on solid crew handling,\u201d the BALPA warning adds.<\/p>\n
Airlines have until November 2027 to inspect the engine fire buttons on affected aircraft \u2013 a timeframe that BALPA says \u201cunderstandably feels uncomfortable.\u201d<\/p>\n
The engine fire button on Airbus aircraft would normally only be pressed if the ECAM system detected a fire in the engine, but it does not automatically deploy fire retardant into the engine when pushed. The buttons stop fuel supply to the engine, isolate the electrics, and close the engine bleed air valve.<\/p>\n
At this point, the ECAM system works to detect whether there is still a fire in the engine. If there are indications of a fire, the ECAM tells the pilots to press a different button to deploy a fire extinguisher in the engine. The ECAM once again tries to detect whether the fire is cleared. If there is still fire, the pilots have one more extinguisher that they can deploy into the engine.<\/p>\n
BALPA warns that there are few indications of the engine fire button self-deploying, especially at night when the cockpit is in darkness. In the Air New Zealand incident, however, the pilots noticed a distinctive \u2018clicking\u2019 noise as the button self-activated.<\/p>\n
The accident report on the February incident has not yet been released, so the actual cause of the event cannot be definitively stated at this time.<\/p>\n
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\t Mateusz Maszczynski honed his skills as an international flight attendant at the most prominent airline in the Middle East and has been flying ever since… most recently for a well known European airline. Matt is passionate about the aviation industry and has become an expert in passenger experience and human-centric stories. Always keeping an ear close to the ground, Matt’s industry insights, analysis and news coverage is frequently relied upon by some of the biggest names in journalism.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/france\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/cef9cb1579594cfd078520dbe0869fd066e56d5e439461f889f15c2dbeaa5417.png\")
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