Airbus Warns Against Sunshades and Suction-Cup Accessories on Cockpit Windows
Airbus has highlighted the operational risks associated with attaching aftermarket sunshades and suction-cup mounts to cockpit windows, following an incident analysis published in its operational magazine, Safety First.
According to the technical review, a serious window malfunction occurred on an A320 flight after the flight crew placed an aftermarket suction-cup sunshade on the right sliding window. While the shade trapped localized heat against the glass, an existing fault in the window heat sensor caused the heating computer to continue applying power based on invalid temperature data.
As overheating distorted the window structure, the crew received cockpit alerts, pulled the corresponding window heat circuit breaker, and elected to divert. During final approach, the right cockpit window cracked. Technical inspections revealed that the stretched acrylic inner ply shrank and exposed the interlayer, while the outer structural ply remained intact, allowing the aircraft to land without further incident.
