Flight Crew Air Transport Pilot (ATP)
Workload; Human-Machine Interface; Distraction
Aircraft Equipment Problem Less Severe; Deviation - Altitude Excursion From Assigned Altitude; Deviation - Track / Heading All Types; Inflight Event / Encounter Unstabilized Approach; Inflight Event / Encounter CFTT / CFIT
Flight Crew Returned To Clearance
Aircraft; Human Factors
On approach into CAK I selected approach mode on the flight director but it somehow went to roll mode and I missed it. I had begun the approach high and allowed the workload to overwhelm me; thus missing the roll mode indication. While correcting back to the localizer I allowed the aircraft to descend below the glideslope. As I began to climb Tower advised us of a low altitude alert. Once on the glideslope we continued the approach and were stabilized by 1;000 FT. Landing was uneventful.
When the Captain of a CRJ-700 inadvertently selected roll mode vice approach mode after being cleared for an ILS the aircraft descended below the glideslope and triggered a low altitude alert from the Tower.