Airbus planes must now follow new rules for flying with landing gear down

The US aviation regulator is requiring Airbus to update flight manuals for several of its large aircraft models. This means pilots will have new procedures to follow when flying with the landing gear extended, and mechanics cannot dispatch planes with certain landing gear alerts.

This change addresses a specific safety concern: the brake system on these planes can get too cold when the landing gear is down. It also prevents planes from flying if a landing gear retraction fault is active, which could prevent a critical generator from working. These are small, specific changes that prevent potential failures in flight.