PPRuNe Forums - View Single Post - AF447 Thread No. 3
View Single Post
Old 28th May 2011, 18:53
  #420 (permalink)  
bratschewurst
 
Join Date: Jul 2008
Location: Milwaukee WI
Age: 72
Posts: 35
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
What's not clear from the report is why the PF made any stick inputs at all. My understanding is that, even in alternate law, the computers maintain the pitch and roll attitudes previously commanded until the stick is moved, so presumably the aircraft would have continued straight and level, assuming that was the case when the a/p disengaged.

"From 2 h 10 min 05, the autopilot then auto-thrust disengaged and the PF said "I have the controls". The airplane began to roll to the right and the PF made a left nose-up input."

Would the flight control system countered the roll without the PF inputting left nose-up? And what led him to think that he should pitch up at all? If (as reported) he was flying from the right seat, the airspeed he was seeing was not recorded on the FDR, so perhaps there's insufficient information to fully judge what he was responding to.

But it does appear, if my understanding of the Airbus FBW system (gleaned mostly from these threads) is correct, that the aircraft would have continued in straight and level (and unstalled) flight absent the left nose-up input by the PF.
bratschewurst is offline