The European Joint Aviation Authorities (JAA) has changed its philosophy on auto-pilot-disconnect options for Airbus A300-600 and A310 pilots on precision approaches. This results from lessons learned from the April 1994 China Airlines A300-600 crash at Nagoya, Japan, in which 264 people died. Previous regulation required that, below 400ft (120m) on an auto-pilot-coupled approach, pilots could switch off the auto-pilot, but not disconnect it "instinctively", by applying force to the control column. Now pilots are to have both options.
Source: Flight International
