Guidance chain click a component
Simplified — not for operational use. Click the MCDU, FCU, an FMGC, the autopilot, flight director, autothrust, or the FMA.
Click any component above to see what it does →
When the automation lets go
MANUAL REVERSION
An autopilot disconnect can be pilot-commanded or automatic — for example if both FMGCs disagree or required sensor data is lost. The flight director and autothrust often keep working independently afterward, so pilots typically revert to hand-flying with the FD bars and A/THR still engaged, cross-checking the FMA to confirm exactly what's still active before deciding whether to keep any automation running at all.
Quick reference
AUTOPILOT (AP)
- One AP normally engaged at a time; a second can be added for an autoland
- Disengages via sidestick priority takeover or the red disconnect pushbutton
- Needs valid flight director guidance, own or cross-side, to fly a mode
FLIGHT DIRECTOR / FMA
- FD command bars work with or without the autopilot engaged
- FMA reads left to right: thrust, vertical, lateral, then AP/FD/A-THR status
- Armed modes and engaged modes show in different rows of the FMA
AUTOTHRUST (A/THR)
- Thrust levers stay in a fixed detent; A/THR moves thrust electronically
- Can be engaged independently of the autopilot and flight director
- Reverts to manual thrust if disconnected, tracked by its own FMA column