SF340 FLC REMOVED 'GND-OP ONLY' BETA LOCK WHILE INFLT. FAA ACI REVIEW FOLLOWED.

Narrative

ON APCH TO LNDG ON RWY 24 AT ACK ARPT AT APPROX 200 FT AGL I MOVED THE BETA STOP TO THE AFT POS. I WAS TAKING INTO ACCOUNT THE TEMP; GROSS WT; REF SPD AND RWY LENGTH. MY INTENTION WAS TO AVOID ENTERING BETA WITH THE BETA STOP ENGAGED UPON LNDG WHICH HAS BEEN A PROB IN THE PAST. AN FAA INSPECTOR WAS IN THE JUMP SEAT. WE DISCUSSED THE BETA STOP PROBS. I KNOW I'M SENDING THIS IN LATE; HOWEVER I DEVIATED FROM THE CHKLIST AND WANTED NASA TO KNOW ABOUT THE BETA STOP PROBS. CALLBACK CONVERSATION WITH RPTR REVEALED THE FOLLOWING INFO: DURING AN FAA ROUTE CHK; CAPT OPERATED THE BETA STOP IN THE 'ROUTINE' MANNER; 'ACCIDENTALLY;' AGAINST CHKLIST AND SOP. THE SOP FOR THE BETA STOP (AN INFLT BETA AND REVERSE LOCK-OUT LEVER) IS TO PHYSICALLY REMOVE ON LNDG THRESHOLD; BUT THIS WOULD DELAY BETA SELECTION AND CAUSE A PROB ON A SHORT RWY. SO AGAINST SOPS; FLC REMOVED THE BETA LOCK INFLT ON APCH TO SHORT RWYS. FAA ACI RECOGNIZED DEV; QUESTIONED RPTR; AND INFORMED CHIEF PLT. THE BETA STOP LEVER IS A TEMPORARY INITIATIVE AND MANUFACTURER IS REQUIRED TO REPLACE ALL BETA STOPS (APPROX 1 YR DEADLINE) WITH A WT-ON-WHEELS MICROSWITCH. IT IS ANTICIPATED THAT THIS WILL RESOLVE CURRENT OP FRUSTRATION EXPERIENCED BY PLTS. THE RPTR FLIES THE SAAB 340.