B777 relief pilot reports that auto throttle switches are not turned off after landing and are often...

Narrative:

During taxi out on numerous B777 flights; I've observed both auto throttle switches in the on position. They should be off. With the switches on; there is a risk that a toga button could be pressed by accident; which would result in both throttles quickly advancing toward takeoff thrust during taxi out. This is; in my opinion; a dangerous situation. The reason this is happening is due to the recent SOP/flow changes with no formal training. The new procedures do not call for the auto throttle switches to be turned off after clearing the runway after landing; nor do they call for the inbound crew to turn them off after parking/shutdown. The auto throttle switches are supposed to be turned off by the outbound captain during the cockpit setup checks; per the new checklist. The captains are missing this step on most flights (6 out of 8 I've seen so far). The current SOP thus is a set-up for failure. Lets get the auto throttle switches turned off after parking; and then re-check them off during the cockpit setup flow. Leaving the auto throttles on during any phase of operation other than takeoff; in-flight or landing is a hazard to the operation.

Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: B777 Relief Pilot reports that auto throttle switches are not turned off after landing and are often missed during preflight resulting in taxi out with auto throttles armed. This is due to recent SOP/flow changes with no formal training.

Narrative: During taxi out on numerous B777 flights; I've observed both auto throttle switches in the ON position. They should be OFF. With the switches ON; there is a risk that a TOGA button could be pressed by accident; which would result in both throttles quickly advancing toward takeoff thrust during taxi out. This is; in my opinion; a dangerous situation. The reason this is happening is due to the recent SOP/flow changes with no formal training. The new procedures do NOT call for the auto throttle switches to be turned OFF after clearing the runway after landing; nor do they call for the inbound crew to turn them OFF after parking/shutdown. The auto throttle switches are supposed to be turned OFF by the outbound Captain during the cockpit setup checks; per the new checklist. The Captains are missing this step on most flights (6 out of 8 I've seen so far). The current SOP thus is a set-up for failure. Lets get the auto throttle switches turned OFF after parking; and then re-check them OFF during the cockpit setup flow. Leaving the auto throttles ON during any phase of operation other than takeoff; in-flight or landing is a hazard to the operation.

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	974783
Time
Date	201110
Local Time Of Day	0601-1200
Place
Locale Reference	ZZZ.Airport
State Reference	US
Environment
Flight Conditions	VMC
Aircraft 1
Make Model Name	B777 Undifferentiated or Other Model
Operating Under FAR Part	Part 121
Flight Plan	IFR
Component
Aircraft Component	Autothrottle/Speed Control
Person 1
Function	Relief Pilot Pilot Not Flying
Qualification	Flight Crew Air Transport Pilot (ATP)
Experience	Flight Crew Last 90 Days 200 Flight Crew Total 15000 Flight Crew Type 4500
Events
Anomaly	Deviation - Procedural Published Material / Policy

B777 relief pilot reports that auto throttle switches are not turned off after landing and are often missed during preflight resulting in taxi out with auto throttles armed. This is due to recent SOP/flow changes with no formal training.