Originally Posted by
Smooth Airperator
A320 skipper. Like most, I work at a company where the captain has the thrust levers for the takeoff roll and is responsible for any rejected takeoff. Recently, during a line check, I received a remark saying I "shouldn't hover my hands above the FO's after he has set thrust and should allow him a reasonable amount of time to relinquish them". I responded that I don't normally do this but the FO held the thrust levers for far too long after setting them. FO remarked that he "didn't forget but was just waiting for a good time to give them back" (whatever that means).
When I was in the right seat, I would set the thrust levers and immediately release them, knowing that it's crucial for the captain to have full and immediate control in the event of a rejected takeoff. Based on simulator experiences, the importance of the captain being able to quickly and decisively cut the thrust, especially during a low-speed/high-power reject with x-wind or contamination appears to me as paramount (we practice 30 KTS cross-wind rejects from a narrow runway in the sim a lot).
I felt I was poorly understood by the checker. Anyway, not to dwell on my experience so much, but what is the consensus out there, are there folks who feel that their colleagues are taking a second or two longer than they ought to be? Does your company publish any guidance on this matter?
Hi,
there are no reasons for the FO to keep the hand on the thrust levers once the detent is hit. Exactly as you said, once the detent clicks in, thrust levers are yours for the reasons you have well described above.
If I was the checker I would have asked the FO the meaning of “waiting for the good time” as there could well be knowledge items to review on how the system works.