I fly Jetblue frequently and when we are seated anywhere from rows 10 thru 16 or so there is a high pitched whining sound when the plane is on the ground that can last for 5minutes or more at a time. One pilot said he doesn’t hear it up front , but thinks its a pump. Whatever it is . I can tell you it hurts the ears and is very disturbing. Does anyone know what the noise comes from?
Do you hear it on every A320?
Maybe an APU?
Are the engines on when you hear it? Hear it in the air? On the ground?
More info would be nice.
I hear it when the engines are on and when they are off. If we are parked at the gate gate and waiting to disembark and the engines have shut down the noise is on also
I don’t hear it when we are airborne
Probably is a hydraulic pump, but something needs to be done about it, the noise is seriously close to torture! I am surprised more complaints haven’t been made. Maybe we should seat some terrorists on an Airbus for an hour with that noise going on and get a lot of info out of them when they beg to get off the plane. But all kidding aside the noise really is annoying.
Can you compare the noise to something, so I can get an idea about how loud it is? I’m just curious… 
Sounds like the hydraulic pump to me too.
the noise is a very high pitched whining sound that hurts the ears
Mmmm… OK. 
Sounds like a crying baby to me! All planes have them - not just the A320.
never heard it on another plane, crying babies are a pleasure compared to this!!!
The sound affects the A319/20/21 airplanes. The pump is located in the main gear wheel well area and it runs to maintain pressure to certain systems and the pressure accumulator. And yes, depending on your seat location it can be very annoying. Although the tone of the pump can affect pitch sensitive ears differently.
Mr. Cool, I highly recommend a set of earplugs. If you fly enough that this annoys you to this point, some simple earplugs will help a lot.
PTHOMAS I have a very fine Bose noise quieting headset that barely reduces the high pitched whining, it is definitely a design flaw. I have a commercial HVAC business and can tell you that any installation with that much cf an annoying sound would not sell and would certainly need to be removed
Keep in mind, everyone, that this sound that you’re hearing is normal for the operations of the A318/A319/A320, and possibly even the A321 (don’t know, haven’t flown one). I have heard this on the ground while taxiing, at the gate, during pushback, the whole lot. There is nothing wrong with the aircraft when it does this, nor is it a problem.
As for it not selling, IIRC, at least 3 US LCCs use them exclusively, and a legacy carrier is opting to go with them as they replace their B737 fleet, so they appear to be selling rather well…
BL.
Do you work for Airbus or are you just a shill for them?
[quote=“deef1999”]
This doesn’t even dignify a response (yet, stupidly, I just did). Oh well, in for a sheep.
Who I work for (And it isn’t Airbus) isn’t a topic for here, and until I want to divulge it, none of your smegging business. All I will say is that I don’t work for Airbus, Boeing, Embraer, or anyone in the aviation/aerospace industry. I don’t care either way for the Fanboi war you’re trying to set me up for, and I’m not going to take your feeble bait on it. So keep your shill to yourself.
BL.
BL.