Originally Posted by
StudentInDebt
Just so we’re clear, if you press the “ALT button” on the 330 it engages the autopilot in an altitude hold mode rather than the appropriate managed vertical mode?
Pressing the ALT button on the FCU commands an immediate level off.
This is independent of whether you are in manual flight or auto flight.
COMMANDS here would mean directs via flight director in manual flight, or indeed AUTOMATICALLY follows the guidance when Autopilot is selected. The Flight Director does work in both manual and auto flight regime.
Mode awareness and indeed the status of the autopilot would appear to be contributing factors in this event.
It is possible it took a while to connect the dots and come to the realization that nobody, nor the autopilot, was flying the aircraft.