More details are emerging about the software problem that caused the crash. Airbus had already revealed that the fatal crash of an Airbus A400M military transport was caused by what was described as a “quality issue in the final assembly” of the electronic control units (ECU)—a fault in software configuration that led to a loss of control of the aircraft and resulted in the death of four crew members.
Reuters reported additional details today provided by individuals familiar with the investigation into the crash, stating that a critical part of the configuration data in three of the aircraft’s four ECUs—a file storing torque calibration parameters for each engine—was somehow “accidentally wiped” when the software was being installed. As a result, three of the aircraft’s engines automatically shut down in flight.