A300 captain rejects takeoff when auto throttles are engaged prior to engines being spooled and airc...

Narrative:

Tower cleared us for takeoff with traffic on a 5 miles final. I believe the captain; the pilot flying; engaged the autothrottles prior to having the aircraft aligned with the centerline; resulting in loss of control and aborting the takeoff at less than 10 KTS. We came to a stop on the runway but not pointing down the centerline. I called tower and informed them we aborted our takeoff which resulted in at least 1 aircraft having to perform a go-around. We were able to clear the runway and taxi to a holding area where maintenance inspected the aircraft and gave us a verbal 'ok.' the captain elected to cautiously taxi out and after determining everything was normal (steering; braking; etc.) and all checklists accomplished; we decided to take off. The remainder of the flight was uneventful. Our aborted takeoff which resulted in at least 1 aircraft going around is 1 reason for the report. Another is the captain's possible inadvertent activation of the autothrottles; prior to lining up on the runway; which is what I suspect caused the loss of control during the turn onto runway. I also believe the captain felt 'rushed' by the tower controllers for an expedited takeoff due to traffic on 5 miles final. All checklists were accomplished prior to entering the runway. No damage was reported to the aircraft or airport facilities. In the future; I believe the captain should not engage the autothrottles until the aircraft is lined up on the runway and engines are spooled up.

Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: A300 Captain rejects takeoff when auto throttles are engaged prior to engines being spooled and aircraft being aligned with runway. Aircraft on approach is instructed to go around.

Narrative: Tower cleared us for takeoff with traffic on a 5 miles final. I believe the Captain; the Pilot Flying; engaged the autothrottles prior to having the aircraft aligned with the centerline; resulting in loss of control and aborting the takeoff at less than 10 KTS. We came to a stop on the runway but not pointing down the centerline. I called Tower and informed them we aborted our takeoff which resulted in at least 1 aircraft having to perform a go-around. We were able to clear the runway and taxi to a holding area where maintenance inspected the aircraft and gave us a verbal 'OK.' The Captain elected to cautiously taxi out and after determining everything was normal (steering; braking; etc.) and all checklists accomplished; we decided to take off. The remainder of the flight was uneventful. Our aborted takeoff which resulted in at least 1 aircraft going around is 1 reason for the report. Another is the Captain's possible inadvertent activation of the autothrottles; prior to lining up on the runway; which is what I suspect caused the loss of control during the turn onto runway. I also believe the Captain felt 'rushed' by the Tower controllers for an expedited takeoff due to traffic on 5 miles final. All checklists were accomplished prior to entering the runway. No damage was reported to the aircraft or airport facilities. In the future; I believe the Captain should not engage the autothrottles until the aircraft is lined up on the runway and engines are spooled up.

Data retrieved from NASA's ASRS site as of April 2012 and automatically converted to unabbreviated mixed upper/lowercase text. This report is for informational purposes with no guarantee of accuracy. See NASA's ASRS site for official report.

Attributes
ACN	828471
Time
Date	200903
Local Time Of Day	1801-2400
Place
Locale Reference	ZZZ.Airport
State Reference	US
Environment
Flight Conditions	VMC
Light	Dusk
Aircraft 1
Make Model Name	A300
Operating Under FAR Part	Part 121
Flight Phase	Takeoff
Flight Plan	IFR
Person 1
Function	First Officer Pilot Not Flying
Qualification	Flight Crew Instrument Flight Crew Flight Engineer Flight Crew Commercial Flight Crew Air Transport Pilot (ATP) Flight Crew Multiengine Flight Crew Private
Experience	Flight Crew Last 90 Days 150 Flight Crew Total 7500 Flight Crew Type 3000
Events
Anomaly	Conflict Ground Conflict Less Severe Deviation - Procedural Published Material / Policy Ground Event / Encounter Loss Of Aircraft Control

A300 captain rejects takeoff when auto throttles are engaged prior to engines being spooled and aircraft being aligned with runway. Aircraft on approach is instructed to go around.