ALT BUST AND A POTENTIAL CONFLICT BY THE FLC OF AN A321 AFTER A DESTABILIZED APCH AND GAR USING TOGO PWR AT MCO; FL.

Date: 2002-08 · Aircraft: A321

Anomalies: atc-issue-all-types|aircraft-equipment-problem-less-severe|conflict-airborne-conflict|deviation-altitude-overshoot|deviation-speed-all-types|deviation-discrepancy-procedural-clearance|inflight-event-encounter-loss-of-aircraft-control|inflight-event-encounter-unstabilized-approach|other-acft-eq-design

Synopsis

ALT BUST AND A POTENTIAL CONFLICT BY THE FLC OF AN A321 AFTER A DESTABILIZED APCH AND GAR USING TOGO PWR AT MCO; FL.

Narrative

WE WERE IN AN AIRBUS 321 APCHING MCO FROM THE N. THE FMS WAS PROGRAMMED AND PLTS BRIEFED FOR AN ILS RWY 18R. AFTER RESPONDING TO A TCASII RA TO 'CLB' WHILE ON RADAR VECTORS WITH APCH CTL (ABOUT 20 NM NE MCO) WE CLRED THAT ACFT BY 2-3 MI AND 600 FT. WE WERE CLRED DIRECT TO ORL VOR (WHICH ISN'T PART OF THE NAVAID/FIX STRING LEADING TO ILS RWY 18R). SOMEWHERE AROUND 12-15 NM NE OF MCO; WE RPTED 'ARPT IN SIGHT' AND WERE CLRED FOR THE VISUAL APCH TO RWY 18L; BUT TO ALSO CROSS EXECUTIVE ARPT AT OR ABOVE 2500 FT. THE 'APCH' PUSH BUTTON WASN'T PRESSED BECAUSE THE NAV SYS WAS SET UP FOR RWY 18R ILS; YET WE WERE CLRED FOR APCH TO RWY 18L WHICH DOESN'T HAVE AN ILS. THE CLRNC TO CROSS EXECUTIVE ARPT AT 2500 FT PUT US ABOUT 300 FT HIGH ABOVE GLIDE PATH. WE ALSO HAD A 15-20 KT QUARTERING TAILWIND FROM ABOUT 050 DEGS. THE COMMANDING OFFICER DISCONNECTED THE AUTOPLT AND BOTH FLT DIRECTORS AND COMMANDED GEAR DOWN AND FLAPS 3 DEGS. BY 1800 FT ON DSCNT; WE REALIZED THAT WE WEREN'T GOING TO BE ABLE TO MAKE A NORMAL APCH AND LNDG. WE ASKED FOR A 360 DEG TURN BUT THAT WAS DENIED; WHILE THEY WOULD APPROVE S-TURNS. WE REJECTED THAT SUGGESTION AS BEING INADEQUATE FOR OUR SIT WHERE WE WERE GETTING PROGRESSIVELY HIGHER FROM THE IDEAL AS WE TRIED TO SLOW TO THE NEXT FLAP SPD. SPD BRAKES WERE EXTENDED. WE ADVISED TWR THAT WE WERE GOING AROUND. THEY TOLD US TO MAINTAIN 2000 FT AND RWY HDG. THEY SAID WE HAD WBOUND TFC AT 9 O'CLOCK; 3000 FT (AND ABOUT 4 MI AWAY). IT WAS A CHEROKEE. IN THE MEANTIME; THE COMMANDING OFFICER APPLIED FULL PWR AND CALLED FOR GEAR UP AND GAR FLAPS. WITH ONLY A FEW HUNDRED FT TO CLB; THE AIRPLANE VAULTED TO AND THROUGH 2000 FT FOLLOWED BY FLAP OVERSPD AS THE COMMANDING OFFICER PITCHED DOWN. I ALERTED HIM TO THE ALT; AS DID ATC; AND HE FINALLY REDUCED THE PWR TO 'CLB' BUT WE HAD BALLOONED UP TO ABOUT 2500 FT. WE FINALLY GOT RE-ESTABLISHED AT 2000 FT BUT 'IT WASN'T PRETTY.' THE EVENT WAS SET UP BY A COMBINATION OF THINGS: ATC'S RESTR THAT KEPT US HIGH FOR TOO LONG; A TAILWIND WHICH MADE US FAST; VECTORS THAT SENT US TO A FIX THAT WASN'T PART OF THE APCH (WHICH THEN PRECLUDED US FROM ENGAGING FULL AUTOMATION TO INTERCEPT THE APCH); EXPECTATION FOR AN ILS RWY 18R WHICH WAS CHANGED TO VISUAL RWY 18L; COMPANY PROCS THAT DICTATE FULL USE OF AUTOMATION EXCEPT WHEN ABSOLUTELY NECESSARY AND THE GAR PROC THAT REQUIRES US TO ADVANCE THE PWR FULLY TO TOGA (MAX) FOR ALL GA'S; INDEPENDENT OF ALT BEFORE ALLOWING US TO REDUCE TO A STILL PWRFUL CLB SETTING. ANOTHER PROB FEATURE OF THE AIRBUS SYS IS THAT THE PNF CAN'T ADD NOSE-DOWN PRESSURE TO HELP IN THIS TYPE OF OVERSHOOT -- THAT WOULD RESULT IN ADDITIVE PITCH-DOWN COMMANDS FROM BOTH STICKS. THE USE OF THE 'TAKEOVER PUSH BUTTON' IS STILL SOMEWHAT EXTREME; EVEN IN THE CURRENT STATE OF COCKPIT DIPLOMACY BEING 'OPEN.' I COULD ENVISION A SOMEWHAT UGLY SCENE IN 'FIGHTING' FOR THE UPPER HAND OF ACFT CTL WITH THIS PARTICULAR CAPT. I WAS LOOKING FOR THE TFC VISUALLY BUT HADN'T SEEN HIM; WHILE NOTING HIS POS ON TCASII; SOMEWHERE OUTSIDE OF 3 MI AND ABOUT OUR 8 O'CLOCK POS. WE WERE NOT IN A DANGEROUS POS; JUST MESSY AND SLOPPY; AND EMBARRASSING.

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Source: NASA Aviation Safety Reporting System (public domain). Reports are voluntary submissions and are not verified by NASA.