So how are YOUR hand-flying skills these days....?

[pattern_is_full]

Incident: Air Canada A319 near Vancouver on Jan 3rd 2015, loss of FMGS (http://avherald.com/h?article=47fee3e9&opt=0)

[Dream Land]

A simple reset, easily resolved. :hmm:

[grounded27]

Not experienced with the A320 series but this news blurb seemed over dramatic. Please correct me if I am wrong but.


autopilot control, flight director commands, auto thrust control, navigation radio auto tuning,Should you not still have manual A/P, A F/D, A/T and A NAV/RAD page unless both CDU/MCDU's had failed. I would have thought this aircraft could still fly it's flight plan with OMG manual tuning and HDG,ALT and A/T A/P input, should have still been able to fly an ILS down to minimums with manual planning?

[bloom]

The Airbus was not designed to be hand flown, especially not by the neo tech, zoomy headed, X box raised, non pilots of today. Yes, the Captain may have the savvy to hand fly it but may not know how low the computer system has degraded and when it may override his actions. The F/O may know how low the system has degraded but lacks the basic flying skills to command the aircraft at that level of degradation.

So yes, park it and fix it . Good decision Captain.

Simple reset? CB's? Is that legal? In the manual?

[Metro man]

In the QRH, a section on computer resets. Some are on ground with the engines off and park brake set, others allowed inflight.

[calypso]

The Airbus was not designed to be hand flown

Total rubbish. It flies very nicely with all the gizmos off but as with all other skills practice makes perfect. AT the edges of system degradation it can be tricky but hey so is a 737 with a rudder hard over.

[framer]

Good work. Everyone lived to fight another day.
Next.

[Ollie Onion]

The thing is a piece of cake to fly with a dual FMGC failure, your biggest issue preventing you from continuing is that you become NON RVSM so may not have access to higher airspace and that may lead to fuel issues, so a return to land is probably not to bad an option.

[Farrell]

Ollie Onion…..tah daaaaaah! :D

This is why I seldom post on here anymore.
The armchair jockeys who can tell you all about what's in their downloaded manual but haven't got an iota of knowledge about the bigger operational issues outside the flight-deck.

You obviously do!
Be careful, though. You'll soon be hunted (or frustrated) into extinction.

[B737900er]

Not familiar with the Airbus but on the Boeing you still have the autopilot and AT. So you are still RVSM compliant.

You will become non RNAV compliant and will need to request for vectors and/or use conventional navigation.

EU airspace requires you to be RNP 5 so continuing might not be an option. Each EU state will have to agree to take you, if not, a tech stop or return to land will be the only choice.

Also the other issues Ollie has mentioned.

[C_Star]

Also, no FMGS means no RNAV (unless the A/C had B-up Nav).

I'd happily trundle VOR to VOR across the continent, but nowadays there are less and less VORs enroute. I don't know how it's in Canada, but in Europe I am lucky to overfly one VOR on a 2 hr route. You just can't navigate in modern airspace without RNAV...

[Right Way Up]

The Boeing has an FMS whereas the Airbus has an FMGS...therein lies a big difference. :)

[737Jock]

Maybe something as simple as no contracted maintenance at destination/ no spares?
No RVSM, No RNAV, can't dispatch anymore once on the ground.

There are tonnes of reasons why they might have returned. But to suggest that they can't handfly is absolute BS, they diverted and landed safely by handflying didn't they?

And yes it's a simple reset, but I have seen it fail the reset as well. What makes you think they didn't have a few FO's at it.

[Denti]

Theres even two different reset procedures, and both can be done inflight, so no problem there.

Just a question, is backup nav uncommon? I wouldn't know, but as far as i know we have it on all of our busses which would allow normal navigation along the planned route.

[C_Star]

It could allow navigation along the pre-planned route, but I don't think it fulfils the B-RNAV/RNP requirements

[J.O.]

The flight was headed to Newark. Almost everything one does in the New York's airspace these days requires RNAV capability. All around good decision making here, as for the uninformed twaddle from the likes of bloom, take it for what it's worth (which isn't much).

[Capn Bloggs]

Should you not still have manual A/P
Yes, the first officer! :}

[evansb]

Pretty pretty pretty good.


Just in case y'all forgot... (Yes, the port pedal has more wear than the starboard..)
http://i1047.photobucket.com/albums/b477/gumpjr_bucket/92bbcd49-06b4-49f8-860d-daae89fdd3a6.jpg