And we're back again fighting amongst ourselves for the quality of the Airbus construction / philosophy / floght control laws... etc...
Desitter,
First, let me apologize for my frustrated outburst of the other day - I was perhaps one beer beyond inhibition
Are you in the same state of mind ?
We all know how good a pilot you were and how well you could cope with airplanes that were built for virile, hairy pilots.
Forget it. Just try and understand how aviation has evolved and how much safer it is now.
There are hundreds of posts on the particulars of modern FBW airplanes and I suggest you read them before you'll make a complete cretin of yourself ( which hasn't happened yet)
DJ77
Note the ambiguity: nothing is said if Alt law 2 is due ADR faults or disagree conditions.
I'm going to give you *a benefice du doute* as I don't know wheteher your trolling or acting in good faith.
Your reference is only on the pitch axis which happens to have the same law in pitch whether you're in ALT 1 or 2. The Lateral modes are something else entirely as they are in Norm on ALT1 and a combination of DIR and ALT in roll and yaw.
From that original mistake, your post is dead wrong and you'll have to try again.
BOAC,
I read above that there is a failure mode which requires an inordinate amount of careful button pushing on an overhead panel to pass control to the pilot - no simple 'press one big button (easily to hand) and I will fly this aircraft'- or have I been mis-informed?
Don't know what you're talking about.
As far as this accident is concerned, and supposing that there was no return to normal on these systems, the Autopilot disengaged for a *Double ADR Fault*, the whole system reverted back to the pilots with an ALT2 FC law, which basically implies one has full control of the aircraft without protections.