Originally Posted by Lemurian
It's a mystery to me. There is no trace of an auto-brake setting in the transcripts we saw, but it is generally discussed by the crew during the descent/approach briefing.
I think one thing we can possibly all agree on is that there is plenty missing from the two versions of the transcripts that we have so far seen.
Also please note that the 'decal' - presumably 'decel' - call does not occur until AFTER the First Officer called 'manual braking.' Could that mean that the call for manual braking was because the autobrakes weren't working?
Alternative explanation of what might have happened below. Please note, Lemurian, that it even gives a possible alternative explanation for the 'En ambar...' call at 1,000 RA
:-
"The approach was uneventful until, passing 1,000 feet, the aircraft's status page changed from Cat III DUAL to CAT III Single. This downgrade meant that any single system failure would terminate the automatic approach. Simultaneously, an amber STEERING caption was noted on the ECAM's WHEEL page. A cycling of the A/SKID & N/W STRNG extinguished the caption and a restored status of Cat III DUAL then showed. Neither pilot could recall re-selecting autobrake after cycling the switch. After touchdown and idle reverse selection, the copilot noted that the autobrake was not functioning and called out "Manual Braking." The pilot selected full toe-braking, but gingerly and over a period of 10 seconds. Eventually recognizing "no joy on the braking front," he applied full reversing and instructed the copilot to cycle the A/SKID & N/W STRNG switch. This had nil effect, so he ordered the switch turned OFF in order to access stored hydraulic pressure in the accumulator. Braking was now available, and he urgently brought the aircraft to a halt. With three tires burst and a fourth damaged, the runway was blocked until the tires were changed."
Nothing to do with this accident, though. It refers to an A320 that overran the runway (luckily for them, a fairly
long runway) at Cardiff in 2003.
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