I asked this question after the DHL B757 mid-air. No success then, so try again. It might be a Tech forum topic, but the thread is here, now.
Firstly, I believe it is an FAA airspace requirement to have max v/s 1000 in the last 1000', and max 500 in the last 500'. This was even befoe TCAS, and please correct if I am mistaken. If that is correct why did the FAA not also require the a/c manufacturer to program the autpilots to achieve the same? This mode of of operation could have an override button for emergency manoeuvering, but otherwise it would be the norm, or some other settings as thought best; e.g. v/s 1000 in last 1000', as is many airline SOP.
In this day and age of sophisitcated avionics, where the sensitivity of auotpilts is reduced below certain heights on ILS's etc etc. this would be a simple fix. I even heard, after Sioux City, that they tested an autoland using engines only for control. If they can do that, a simple reprogramming of level off technique is simple. I'm still amazed that the autopilot does a good job of reducing 3000 ROC to zero, smoothly, in only 400'.
The requirement for a crew intervention, V/S, into a routine safety manoeuvre, seems not the best method. Further, at high ROC, e.g. 3500, the ALT ACQ trips in well before 1000 to go, and thus the V/S mode is disabled in autopilot ops. The only way the crew can override the A/P and reduce the V/S to avoid an RA, is to disconnect. Hardly ideal.
The solution seems technically so simple. Why no action on the regulators' part?