Hi BOAC,
At 8 minutes after the 'event' they are still almost 'level' (+200')
I think you are misreading minutes instead of seconds.
"At
1 h 00 min 27 (point n°2), ......., the PNF manually disengaged the AP by pressing the
takeover pushbutton on the side-stick. A pitch-up input on the PNF’s side-stick going as far as ¾ to stop was recorded for 6 seconds.
At
1 h 02 min 06 (point n°9),...... the aeroplane descended past 36,520 ft. The PF then became aware of the disengagement of the AP and made a pitch-down input on his sidestick."
The total amount of time between AP disconnect and PF (Captain) actually taking control was "only" 1 min 39 secs.
Is it the ergonomic design of the Airbus flight deck or AF crews?
On previous AC types, we had large red letters on the PFD telling whether the AP was engaged "CMD" or only the Flight Directors "FD" in addition to all the other alarms, bells and whistles.
Airbus simply removes "AP(1)(2)" from the top right hand corner of the PFD - it is easier to miss.