Originally Posted by
FlyingOW
With the Triple 7 on ground, selecting the first FD ON activates ALT pitch mode if selected MCP Altitude is within 20 feet of displayed Baro Altitude.
Some pilots have the bad habit of setting 100kts, Hdg 360 and Alt 00000 after shutdown. The electrical power up sets the MCP altitude to 10,000 (intentional design feature by Boeing?)
How the entire crew missed this during instruments scan, and during the Takeoff review and then blindly following FDs after initial rotation, if in fact this is what happened, is another question altogether....
OW
The aircraft was reportedly on the ground for 24 hours before departure. I’d be surprised if it wasn’t powered down and up again during this time (if true). This would put the default 10,000 in the MCP window. Not sure what led to the selection and when, but I guess the FDR data will tell us soon.