A321 Sudden Autopilot Disconnect, TOGA LOCK, Rapid Climb, and Switch from NAV to Heading Mode

Bug Reporting Hub Aircraft & Systems
, , , ,
1

ISSUE DESCRIPTION

Description of the issue:

In the last 48 hours, I have had the A321 suddenly launch into a steep 6,500 fpm climb. The autopilot switches off. The throttles go to TOGA. The flight director is turned off and the ILS mode is switch on. Despite being at TOGA the A321 looses velocity and approaches a stall.

When this is cleared manually, the heading mode can not be switched back to NAV. The PFD shows the set flight plan no longer as a solid line, but as a series of dots. The altitude control can no longer direct the plane to return to the set altitude (in each case I was cursing at FL210. Neither “managed” or “set altitude” can be activated. The vertical velocity setting cannot change the altitude.

The flight plan was developed using the offline tool. While it was loaded into the onboard EFB, and the plan was sent to the ATC, the load into the FMS does not work. Therefore the plan which the A321 was following had been entered into the A321 through the FMS manually.

This issue only started happening within the last few days. It occurs shortly after one returns from escaping to the first menu to pause the game. Upon returning to the game using the “resume” key the flight continues for less than a minute before this issue is triggered.

The issue has happened on flights I tried to fly from Toronto to Ottawa, Ottawa to New York, Edinburgh to London, and London to Paris.

I have had one instance when after a recovery and being in the process of trying to switch back to NAV using the Direct To command the issue starts again when I pressed the “Direct TO” key. In other cases I was back on autopilot after manually returning the FL210 when it occurred again.

When it happens now I simply abort.

12 February 2025 Update:

This happened again yesterday over NYC on a flight from CYUL (Montreal) to KMIA (Miami) at FL380. However, there was a difference: while the throttles were at cruise the flight display showed TOGA LOCK. Regardless, I was not able to recover control of the aircraft and had to abort. This was with the regular Xbox Game Pass version of the game as I uninstalled the beta earlier in the day

29 February 2025 Update:

While this issue continues to occur I have realized that only the Inibuilds developed Airbus airliners are affected. The A320 (v2) has yet to exhibit the bug after multiple plays. The A321 by Inibuilds repeatedly fails. And it fails earlier and earlier during the flight. When I first submitted this bug report one had to fly for sometime before the issue occurred. Now the A321 experiences the issue soon after takeoff. The last during a flight from Lutton to Brussels, the TOGA LOCK, autopilot disconnect, and rapid climb occurred just after engaging the autopilot after wheels up.

FREQUENCY OF ISSUE

Each time I fly the A321 in the last few days. I haven’t tried the other included Airbus airliners, I haven’t had the time. The process of having to key in the flight due to the failure of the EFB to send the plan to the FMS is time consuming and I usually only have a few hours free time.

REPRODUCTION STEPS

Please list clear steps you took in order to help our test team reproduce the same issue:

  1. Develop fight plan using offline tool, load into ATC and FMS when you are in the cockpit
  2. Start from the runway, not cold and dark at the gate.
  3. Fly to cruise altitude, then using the B button move to the pause menu screen, then return to the flight and wait a few moments.

YOUR SETTINGS

MSFS-2024 Game Pass Edition.
Xbox Series X
Stock Controller
200 Gb cache
ethernet connection with unlimited bandwidth setting
100 Mbps low latency fibre to the router network

MEDIA

None.

[END OF FIRST USER REPORT]

3 Likes
2

I had something very similar happen to me last evening on a flight from KATL-KLGA. In my case, I started the flight C&D. I didn’t have issues with the flight plan (I also loaded mine from the offline EFB), but after a time the AP kicked off and it went into a steep climb. Also, for some reason, I was able to get the beast under control by switching FDs back on, along with Auto Throttle, which also had been turned off.
Also, prior to this, my co-pilot suddenly went radio silent when interacting with ATC.
I’m going to try again today to see what happens…

1 Like
3

OK a bit of a follow-up:
I flew the exact same flight this afternoon. I set up everything the same (including livery); only thing different was it was daytime. Overall, I had something of a successful flight; what I mean by that is that I didn’t experience the autopilot disconnect, etc., so perhaps it was something of an outlier performance last evening. My co-pilot was even speaking to ATC once again.
That’s not to say that I didn’t have problems, however. While I was able to complete the flight, ATC had me going to the incorrect approach (it was a bit disconcerting to see a plane taking off and heading toward me from the same runway I was trying to land on!), and the graphics around NYC were pretty awful, to say the least. I saw a big, pointy thing sticking up from Manhattan that I think was Liberty Tower, surrounded by blurry green and brown patches…
Anyway, perhaps you might have a better flight today if you try it again?

4

Glad to hear things were slightly better for you.

I’m going to try the 737 Max BBJ from Toronto to Thunder Bay. Yesterday the entire off line flight plan to on board EFB to MCDU actually worked.

I crashed on take off when the autopilot flew me into the ground, but that could have being me not knowing all the systems yet.

First time I did it from cold and dark. All was well u til I could not turn the APU Generator 1 on because of a bug with the Xbox controller. When you pressed B to exit the configuration, the generator returned to NEUTRAL The generator powers the avionics so you are prevented from going further.

I reported that as a bug.

It’s interesting that so many people now see all these bugs and failures as a challenge to master and press on.

5

i had something similar on a320v2
right on short final it suddenly shot upwards out of nowhere and for no reason
it wasn’t the alpha floor, no indications on fma

3 Likes
6

This issue persists consistently for me with both the A320N and the A321LR. The majority of the flight proceeds as expected, with approximately 95% of the final approach also going as planned during ILS CAT 3 DUAL autoland approaches. However, at approximately 200 feet from the runway, the autopilot disconnects unexpectedly, pitches the aircraft upward, and activates TOGA.

I am unable to determine the cause, as there are no apparent indications of an issue on the PFD. The system correctly transitions to LAND mode, indicating that it intends to execute an autoland, yet it fails abruptly just prior to touchdown. It remains unclear whether this behavior is a simulator-related issue or something that iniBuilds needs to address.

4 Likes
7

I experienced the same issue, initially attributing it to user error, but it happened again in almost the same spot. The system unexpectedly switched to heading mode and wouldn’t return to normal. These planes are unusable and impossible to control.

2 Likes
9

I see the same issue with the inbuilds A320/A321 on PC (Steam).

Steps to reproduce this issue are as follows:

  1. Load a flight plan into the MCDU
  2. Scroll in cruise altitude on the autopilot (get this from MCDU top-of-climb)
  3. Takeoff.
  4. Engage Autopilot 1 (FD, Autothrottle automatically engage)
  5. Allow aircraft to begin its climb to cruise.
  6. Allow aircraft to level-off at cruise and observe it exceeds max airspeed and subsequently disengages autopilot, goes into steep climb, and over stresses causing crash
10

Hi :wave:

I have experienced the same issue, and can nearly reproduce it.

Flight : LFBO - LJLJ
Altitude : FL350 - FL390

The issue seems to always appear over Torino (it’s not only over Torino, I’ve experienced the bug in multiple area of the world).

My feeling gut : it’s linked to a “weather boundary”. Over Torino, the weather may suddenly change (maybe it’s passing from a METAR of Nice to a METAR of Milano, for example). And if the weather is very different, then the plane hits its autopilot limits. My INI A320 will go +6500fpm, disengage FD.

It won’t crash on the floor, it will stabilise over time (a few minutes) with no autopilot.

Has anyone noted precisely where did it happen to them ? A flight I can reproduce ? Does this “weather” thing ring a bell to anyone ?

Cheers,
K.

12

Thank you for the bug report.

We have created an internal ticket to see if our team already has this logged, and if not they will attempt to reproduce the issue and create a new bug report. This item is now marked as feedback-logged. If there is an existing bug report or one is created, we will move this thread to bug-logged.

2 Likes
14

ISSUE DESCRIPTION

Description of the issue:

In the MCDU - Initial - I import the flight plan with Simbrief. I check waypoints and flight speed and level. All OK.
Then during the flight everything skips. In the MCDU everything changes, flight level and speed. By itself. It’s happening to me all the time. I can’t make a single flight. Using A320 Neo Inbuilds.
It happens when I pause the game and then back as well.
It happens when I push “direct to” as well.
But in the last flights it happens alone. Just flying.
Example:
FL160 in MCDU and AP1 - all ok, fliying at FL160
At some point el FD goes crazy and goes up to FL 400 and in the MCDU actually places FL460…

If applicable, which aircraft is experiencing this issue:
A320 Neo Inbuilds

[PC Only] Did you remove all your community mods/add-ons? If yes, are you still experiencing the issue?
No addons

FREQUENCY OF ISSUE

How often does this occur for you (Example: Just once, every time on sim load, intermittently)?
This is strange because until about a fortnight ago there was no such problem. Then I didn’t fly again until a few days ago. Since then it always happens to me

REPRODUCTION STEPS

Please list clear steps you took in order to help our test team reproduce the same issue:

1.Import Simbrief fp in MCDU
2.Fly
3.At anytime could happen, FD / MCDU changes all Flight Levels and of course the flight follow new levels (i see change to Fl 420…when it was Fl 270…)

YOUR SETTINGS

If the issue still occurs with no mods and add-ons, please continue to report your issue. If not, please move this post to the User Support Hub.

What peripherals are you using, if relevant:

[PC Only] Are you using Developer Mode or have you made any changes to it?

[PC, MSFS 2020 Only] Are you using DX11 or DX12?

[PC Only] What GPU (Graphics Card) do you use?

[PC Only] What other relevant PC specs can you share?

MEDIA

Please add a screenshot or video of the issue occurring.

[END OF FIRST USER REPORT]

:loudspeaker: For anyone who wants to contribute on this issue, Click on the button below to use this template:

Do you have the same issue if you follow the OP’s steps to reproduce it?
•

Provide extra information to complete the original description of the issue:
•

If relevant, provide additional screenshots/video:
•

15

Hello.
Same problem here.
And I can say it could happen everywhere.
Just happened flying over Barcelona, another time fliying over france, another time over Lisbon…
The strange thing is that until about 10 days ago it was working. Now I can no longer finish a single flight with the A320 inbuilds.
Just seen this topi, yesterday i opened another one for the same issua:
Here

2 Likes
16

Has anyone tried it without the real weather?
I’ve made two flights without having the issue.
To find out if the issue is due to the change of meteorology during the flight.

1 Like
17

Hi :wave:

I’ve seen the same behavior. That’s why in my reply, I suspect that “weather boundaries” might be the root cause, coupled with specific behavior from the aircraft. Days ago, I was trying the Cessna Longitude, the same bug happened but the aircraft has been unrecoverable and the flight ended with a kiss to the land (rather than a kiss landing). The fly-by-wire systems of the Airbus family tends to smoother that thing, I guess.

For me, while I’m not 100% percent, it seems that flight eastbound of Torino (Italia) means crossing such a “weather boundary”. Do you feel like this theory is compatible with what you’ve seen, and if so, do you know a place where you can reproduce the bug ?

Cheers,
K.

1 Like
18

Yes i have tried without real weather, i did a free flight today with the a320 lisbon to porto and the autopilot disconnected at cruise level but i notice the flight speed was going up towards overspeed and that’s when all the dramas started, i was able to continue the flight and land safety but it wouldn’t let me use the flightplan from simbrief when the autopilot disconnected.
This has happened before but not in while, last week i was able to do a handful of flights with no dramas.

2 Likes
19

this has just happened to me.madrid to lisbon.as soon as it changed over to mach at 31k all hell let loose.autopilot disingaged,fd turned off plane get climbing,i manged to get it under controll then it all shut down again,ive had nothing but problems with inibuilds a320 v2,really hope fbw will get there a320 up and running so i can dump this pile of â– â– â– â– â– 

2 Likes
20

Actually I did yesterday. I have a standard fight from Toronto CYYZ to Ottawa CYOW with versions for all three Airbus airliners in the Game Pass version of MSFS 2024. Live weather is turned off and I also use a clear skies setup to reduce graphic demand.

Yesterday in the A32I Neo by Inibuilds just past Oshawa as I reached FL15 it happened again. Sudden autopilot disconnect, sudden 6,500 foot climb at full throttle. Forcing the nose down failed to help as the aircraft kept trying to climb.

Had to escape out of MSFS 2024 and quit the game.

First flight in weeks.

Finding it hard to stay engaged with this platform. Everyone else is posting amazing flights with their PC kit featuring third party add-ons for ATC, pushback, with a host of third party aircraft.

I’m stuck in Xbox limbo waiting for the Marketplace to open again and having to choose from Microsoft, Inibuilds, and Asobo. Three firms that knowingly market buggy products.

And to add insult to injury, the Xbox Game Pass Gift Cards I earned by playing MSFS 2020, which I was saving to treat myself to a MSFS 2024 Marketplace purchase, have expired! Xbox says I can spend them on other game purchases if I want to use them before they expire. I only play MSFS 2024.

21

So what’s everyone here using for their flightplans?
I’ve been using simbrief and also trying to match the efb as close as possible with the simbrief flightplan but i think my next flight i won’t be sending the efb flightplan to the avionics as i think it might be clashing with the simbrief flightplan.

1 Like
22

Okay so here’s an update on the flight i said i was going to do earlier.
So i just completed a flight from Palermo to Genoa with the a320 v2, organised a flightplan using simbrief and also the efb but i didn’t send the efb flightplan to the avionics, just the atc. The flight itself went smoothly, my approach and landing was probably one of my best and the aircraft just followed the flightplan i created from simbrief that was transferred to the mcdu.
Not sure if sending the efb flightplan to avionics was the problem but I’m hoping it was.

2 Likes
23

I just use the SimBrief. Syncing with the MSFS 2024 is pretty useless as the ATC doesn’t really do anything during the flight.