FWIW,
I think they had a manual leg in the FMS with a resulting white line that stretched on forever.
They aren't the first pilots to miss a frequency change, and they won't be the last. Don't know if they simply missed it, or if the controller waited too long to give it to them.
ACARS, not a 320 pilot but I do know that the ACARS chime is turned off during certain phases\times of flight for the 300 and I assume the same logic holds true for the newer airplane.
Guard. I believe it is likely they had it tuned but at a volume so low that they simply couldn't hear it.
They aren't the first pilots to lose SA and they won't be the last. Losing your SA is very insidious. Especially when you are convinced you still have it. And human perceptions of time, especially time we are spending in a given task aren't reliable. We may think we are doing something very frequently, but, an actual tape might indicate the exact opposite. How many times have all of us started something that will only take a couple of minutes then realized that we spent 10, 20, or 30 minutes on it (Just taking a quick look at APC is definitely an example for me)
Do they deserve time off? Definitely. Do they deserve to be fired for using a computer in the cockpit? Not in my opinion.
Would my opinion be different if they had a low fuel warning and tried to cover it up by pressing to the destination only to flame out versus landing at a closer airport. You betcha.
Would my opinion be different if they were using a computer, reading, soduki, etc, during the arrival? Or even just cruising below 10k. You betch.
But they weren't. They got into a discussion 5 miles above the earth. No doubt in my mind that they cross checked their altitude\aspd\engine instruments periodically. No doubt in my mind that they thought they knew where they were.
As best as I can determine from the statements in the press and the video of the FO, they fessed up immediately. Didn't try to come up with some BS story of an aircraft malfunction. Requested to be tested for drugs/alcohol.
Probably as upset with their own performance as some on this board are.