Captain Stable,your point regarding the poll taken.
i am still getting the hang of things at PPrune.
just "exploring the envelope" pushing all the buttons that i find!
i should settle down presently,thank you
Getting back to the point i am trying to make about Speed tapes.
You are absolutely correct that the Speed tape commands the Thrust generated(in the A320 auto thrust system,the power lever itself does not move,which is good for maintainability,but its actually one less cue available to the pilots--but thats another story!)
However, had both the auto thrust AND the auto pilot been kept engaged during the "Go-Around", this unfortunate accident would not have occured in the first place.
On the A320 VISUAL approaches are flown with the FDs(Flight Directors) and APs(Auto Pilots) OFF.
During NON-PRECISION approachs,if the NAV(Navigation)accuracy is LOW,the Aeroplane is supposed to be flown on "Selected Guidance"(i.e. by direct inputs from Pilot Flying) and not "Managed Guidance" (by the FMGSi.e. the Flight Management and Guidance System).Because flying"Selected" involves using the "Heading" as well as the "Vertical Speed" knobs on the FCU(flight control unit)which commands the FDs and APs,and since this can sometimes be a frustrating exercise,compared to flying "hands on" a lot of pilots prefer to disengage the FDs and APs, at this stage of the Approach,however the Auto Thrust is normally kept engaged.
This works very well if you go and make a landing.
But in case of a "Go Around" things can(and in this case did)go out of hand pretty fast.
the point to understand here is that,for the Go Around-- the thrust levers are moved from the "Climb gate" to the "TOGA gate".
And as long as they remain in the "TOGA gate" it efectively ceases to be an auto thrust system.
Yes thats right, the Speed tape no longer commands the thrust(Which remains at TOGA until the lever is brought back to
the "Climb gate")
The Autopilot is suppoesd to be re-engaged at acceleration alt(normally 1500 agl,but nothing prevents you from doing so earlier)
So what you have is, that one moment you are flying at a very high level of automation,come the time for a Go Around, and next you have 50000 lbs of thrust up your behind, and not too much time to get your act togather( usually, if you have rotated to the correct GA attitude, shooting past your Missed Approach altitude serves as a good reminder to get the Thrust levers back!).
I sure could use all the cues available to me,when i have to "Stick and Rudder" a Go-Around on a dark night after a not so stabilized Approach.
i must emphasize here, that this normally happens only in the case of GO-AROUND following a NON-PRECISION or VISUAL approach(which was the case in Bahrain)
ILS approaches and their missed approaches are flown with all the available automation ON,and hence you dont read about them
the next day.
I know all this fuss about lack of automation during a Go-Around, might sound a bit much to conventional types(i was,till a couple of years back,a Boeing 737-200 jockey myself)
But thats what the Man-Machine debate is all about
looking forward to hearing more on this.
nightbird