Narrative:

Approaching to land on runway X with 4 KT tailwind. When selecting flaps 2 degrees; got a flap fault ECAM warning. Flaps 3 degrees or full would produce the same; with each time being a 2-3 second lag with no warning. As we were passing through 1;000 ft in landing configuration; but with the flap warning still there; but around 20 KTS fast because of it; we had been cleared to land. We both felt the airplane didn't necessarily 'feel' right so went around at approximately 800 ft. Once configured back to flaps 1 degree; the warning went out. ZZZZ approach did a fantastic job of vectoring us while we ran the checklists. We asked for a long approach to runway Y into the wind; which they gave us; no problem; even though they had been using the opposite direction. We declared an emergency; and had decided early to simply land at flaps 1 degree with no ecams. Runway distance needed looked to be well under 5;000 ft with over 11;000 ft available. Fuel was no problem as we had tankered enough from ZZZ1 for the return leg. Captain elected to make the landing. With reverse and braking; we made the turnoff just before the terminal apron. Taxied to gate (brake fan required). Maintenance first did a complete aircraft power shutdown for 5 minutes. That appeared to fix the fault; however; the mechanic spent about another 90 minutes; physically checking all the actuators; etc. The problem was assumed to be an indication problem and not an actual flap split or malfunction. After all paperwork was completed; we pushed back approximately 2 hours 15 minutes late. One thing I would have done differently. During our task saturation while being vectored we both forgot we had an airbus first officer pass riding in the back; who could have provided some help (even looking at the wing configurations from the cabin). He had tried to call up; but assuming it was a flight attendant; I just had answered we were too busy to answer right then.

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Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: A320 flight crew reports flap fault during approach and subsequent go around. Fault does not generate a warning chime or light and flaps appear to move to selected position. Crew elects to land with flaps 1 and no ECAM message.

Narrative: Approaching to land on Runway X with 4 KT tailwind. When selecting flaps 2 degrees; got a Flap Fault ECAM warning. Flaps 3 degrees or full would produce the same; with each time being a 2-3 second lag with no warning. As we were passing through 1;000 FT in landing configuration; but with the flap warning still there; but around 20 KTS fast because of it; we had been cleared to land. We both felt the airplane didn't necessarily 'feel' right so went around at approximately 800 FT. Once configured back to flaps 1 degree; the warning went out. ZZZZ Approach did a fantastic job of vectoring us while we ran the checklists. We asked for a long approach to Runway Y into the wind; which they gave us; no problem; even though they had been using the opposite direction. We declared an emergency; and had decided early to simply land at flaps 1 degree with no ECAMs. Runway distance needed looked to be well under 5;000 FT with over 11;000 FT available. Fuel was no problem as we had tankered enough from ZZZ1 for the return leg. Captain elected to make the landing. With reverse and braking; we made the turnoff just before the terminal apron. Taxied to gate (brake fan required). Maintenance first did a complete aircraft power shutdown for 5 minutes. That appeared to fix the fault; however; the Mechanic spent about another 90 minutes; physically checking all the actuators; etc. The problem was assumed to be an indication problem and not an actual flap split or malfunction. After all paperwork was completed; we pushed back approximately 2 hours 15 minutes late. One thing I would have done differently. During our task saturation while being vectored we both forgot we had an Airbus First Officer pass riding in the back; who could have provided some help (even looking at the wing configurations from the cabin). He had tried to call up; but assuming it was a Flight Attendant; I just had answered we were too busy to answer right then.

Data retrieved from NASA's ASRS site as of April 2012 and automatically converted to unabbreviated mixed upper/lowercase text. This report is for informational purposes with no guarantee of accuracy. See NASA's ASRS site for official report.