Stall Recovery Training
We must remember that in any aircraft, and Airbus is no exception, the greatest tool for safety is situational awareness. Let's hope that no computer program will ever replace the aviator in the flight deck.
In the case of a stall, an aviator must remember not just what was taught in the simulator but rather must imagine the conditions that were meant to be simulated.
I know we fly how we train, but the more experience teaches us, the more we should use it. A stall recovery procedure in the simulator is designed to test the pilot's mastery of the aircraft, in the hopes that that knowledge will be used later to fly the aircraft safely in all kinds of unforecast conditions.
I remember, as I was teaching in the simulator in a previous position, the students were quite critical of the complexity of a specific procedure.
My point to them was that the procedure was not designed to fail them, but rather provide good pointers as to how the aircraft may behave in rapidly changing conditions and airspeeds. Invariably, once the students progressed through the training, they came to appreciate the value of that maneuver.
In the case of an actual stall (such as Air France 447 may have entered- since we don't know everything just yet), conditions change so quickly that pilots have to step out of their "as trained" comfort zone, and process these changes and react, perhaps differently, but with knowledge and mastery.
I hate to reach out to old addages, but good old stick and rudder skills are invaluable in such situations, since Airbus or not, modern aircraft still employ those devices.
Pilots should keep in mind all this, as they graduate a training program. Once entrusted with the lives of people, I must repeat a statement I made to one of my students in the past: One must put the thinking hat on and keep it on until safely at the gate.