On May 22, ANAC of Brazil published an Airworthiness Directive involving the upgrade of aircraft Embraer First generation E-Jet, dedicated to Honeywell's avionics system.
According to the information in the Directive published by ANAC, the avionics system can give erroneous indications of altitude during a flight. The altitude information error occurs in adverse weather conditions, where there are data differences in the communication of the aircraft's avionics systems.
Despite this, Honeywell managed to solve the problem with just a software update of the Primus Epic system, where aircraft s must install a new version of the software, made available by Honeywell in 18 months.
The DA's instructions, which you can check out Clicking here, indicate which software version will be installed, depending on the aircraft model and the version that is installed at the time of the update.
ANAC's decision is the first, as the Agency is responsible for certifying the plane, and should be replicated by the FAA and EASA, as well as other aviation regulatory agencies depending on the country.
In the DA the ANAC said:
A case of uncommanded selection of the barometric correction parameter in both primary displays (PFD) was found in the field due to the design of the data communication architecture of the Control I/O modules, between the display controller and the data system of the air. Due to the possibility of erroneous altitude indications for both pilots combined with possible adverse weather conditions increasing the crew's workload, which may interfere with decision-making in critical phases of the flight, this condition is considered unsafe.
Updates are normal during the lifecycle of an aircraft, whether of components or software, as in this situation. Updates may enhance functions, correct bugs or other minor errors noticed by pilots during operations with a specific aircraft model.
