A320 flight crew reported a malfunction with the flap control and indication system inflight.
Synopsis
A320 flight crew reported a malfunction with the flap control and indication system inflight.
Narrative
Two hours into our flight our flap indicator became visible on the EWD (Engine Warning Display) and displayed xx" under the F. We were also getting a master warning light that kept illuminating without an ECAM. No audio was observed either. We never felt any pitch or speed changes and assumed flaps were still at zero. We called maintenance and they agreed that it was an indication issue. Everybody agreed that continuing to ZZZ was the best option. Upon arrival in ZZZ we slowed and deployed the slats via flap 1 selection. The slats moved to .5 and moved slowly. We decide to take a vector northbound to configure to flaps 3. We ended up with .5 slats and 2.5 flaps with the flap selector at three. We still had no ECAM and had to improvise a procedure assuming that what was indicating was true. We referenced the flight control flaps locked procedure which yielded a flaps three landing and +25 knots to our approach speed. We [requested priority handling] due to the higher approach speed and took the longest runway (XXR) into ZZZ. The landing was uneventful and we taxied to the gate without incident. While dealing with this we switched runways from XXL to the offset approach for XXR. I loaded the approach and extended a course from ZZZZZ. ZZZ approach told us to maintain 8000 until established and cleared approach. I armed the final approach mode and the plane descended before the 8000 foot restriction at ZZZZZ2 because ZZZZZ2 wasn't loaded. ATC noticed our altitude and reissued a clearance to maintain 7000 until established. If I would have done anything differently; I would have stuck with our original plan to land on XXL. We had plenty of runway to safely land in our un-standard configuration and our workload was high with improvising a procedure for our condition."
Second reporter narrative
Approximately half way through our flight from ZZZ1 to ZZZ at FL 340 we noticed that the slat/flap indicator was amber and flashing. Underneath the flap symbol indicated 0 and underneath the F symbol had two xx 's. We did not receive an ECAM message. The master warning light was flashing intermittently. The captain talked to Maintenance Control over the radio. Maintenance Control suggested that we continue to ZZZ and suspected a faulty indicator. The captain and I briefed a couple of possible scenarios prior to arrival into ZZZ. We planned to configure the aircraft early to allow time to address any threats.We positioned the flaps to 1 and the slats slowly came down but only to around .5 ( still no ECAM message of any sort). We asked for vectors to the north for some additional time. We slowed to 180 and selected flaps 2. Then slowed to 170 and selected flaps 3. At this point the flaps only went to around 2.5. We [requested priority handling] and asked to go direct to the airport. We decided to stay at flaps 3 and followed the abnormal procedure. We were cautious of our speed and per the performance charts flew at VREF + 25. ATC asked if we would like XXR vs XXL (which we were originally set up for). We entered the RNAV Y into the box. ATC cleared us for the approach and told us to maintain 8;000 until ZZZZZ. We transferred the controls back to the captain. ATC called us asking what altitude we were at and we noticed that we were at 7;400 feet. ATC then said to maintain 7;000 until ZZZZZ1. The landing was very smooth; we didn't require any additional support and taxied to the gate.
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Source: NASA Aviation Safety Reporting System (public domain). Reports are voluntary submissions and are not verified by NASA.