Hands on the controls in readiness to take over, is a good practice. However, up to 10K is too much IMO. I find myself doing it to about 1500 whenever I use the AP. Both up and down.
Never flown an Airbus, and I don't see why this would be different on that type vs. others.
Originally Posted by
AQIS Boigu
On several occasions in the past, immediate intervention after an AP disengagement has resulted in either a disaster or injured cabin crew and passengers.
That's kind of a facile observation. It's like saying that having your hands on the steering wheel has resulted in car crashes.
Much more meaningfully, it can be said that pilots' failure to be engaged with control of the airplane (engaged mentally, with the AP on, and engaged physically, with the AP off) has caused disasters.