Date: 201509
Local time of day: 0601-1200
Location: ZZZZ.ARTCC, US
Light: Daylight
Aircraft: A319
Operator: Air Carrier
Operating under: Part 121
Flight plan: IFR
Mission: Passenger
Flight phase: Cruise
ATC / advisory: Center ZZZZ
Aircraft component: Autothrottle/Speed Control
Component problem: Improperly Operated
Reporter organization: Air Carrier
Reporter function: Captain; Pilot Flying
Reporter qualification: Flight Crew Air Transport Pilot (ATP)
Human factors: Distraction; Human-Machine Interface; Situational Awareness; Training / Qualification; Confusion
Anomaly: Aircraft Equipment Problem Less Severe; Deviation - Speed All Types; Deviation / Discrepancy - Procedural Published Material / Policy
Detector: Person Flight Crew
When detected: In-flight
Result: Flight Crew Became Reoriented; Flight Crew Took Evasive Action
Contributing factors: Procedure; Human Factors
Primary problem: Procedure

Narrative: Slight overspeed at FL390 for 5 seconds reduced power and engaged autothrust system.  On takeoff; around 65 kts; we got an ECAM (Electronic Aircraft Centralized Monitoring) caution.  Being a new Captain; I was spring loaded to reject the takeoff.  I heard the caution; and started to bring the power back to idle.  As I was doing that; I read the ECAM message which I believe said Engine Throttle Levers Not Set.  We had not started to decelerate; and I realized that if I just put the throttles correctly in the FLEX detent; the ECAM message would go away.  I immediately put the throttles in the FLEX detent; the message went away and we had a normal takeoff.  I did not realize that by bringing the throttles to idle for an instant that I disarmed the autothrust system.  At 1500 feet; I had to bring the thrust levers to the climb detent because I didn't get the normal command from the autothrust system.  Clean up was normal.  We were deviating around weather ahead of us for the next few minutes which distracted both of us from talking about the non-normal sequence of thrust commands. At FL390; the aircraft accelerated and we heard the overspeed warning.  I pulled the thrust levers back to idle and realized that the autothrust system was not working.  I pushed the auto thrust pushbutton and the rest of the flight was normal.  At the gate; I wrote a write up about the overspeed.As a new Captain; I'm spring loaded to rejecting the takeoff below 80kts.  My training sort of makes me that way.  I think that in the syllabus there should be the ECAM caution that comes up that you don't have to reject for.  There is a caution that comes up below 80 kts that you should not reject for; but after reviewing [the operations manual] it is grey what that caution is.   Also; I was one of the last guys going through the old transition class.  Now I understand that they demo a fly to altitude with the auto thrust system off in the sim.  That might have helped me with my awareness.




Synopsis: A new A319 Captain failed to set the autothrottles in the takeoff detent which prompted an ECAM (Electronic Aircraft Centralized Monitoring) caution. A partial reject turned the autothrottles off but the takeoff continued. At cruise the aircraft over sped because thrust was not reduced automatically.