Airline pilots who fly certain Airbus jets that first came into service more than two decades ago have reported over 50 episodes of multiple electrical failures in the cockpit.

The failures knocked out navigation and communication equipment. No accidents have been blamed on the problem, but there have been some scary moments, with planes forced to return to the airport or make unscheduled landings.

That's what happened aboard a United flight in 2008 when the radios went dead on takeoff from Newark, N.J.

Airbus, the Federal Aviation Administration and European regulators are aware of the problem, and airlines have been ordered to modify the jets. But it could be a few years before the last of the thousands of planes in service are fixed.

That's how long regulators have given the airlines.