Professor Simon mentions 8,000 feet for the simulator crew to action the Roller Coaster recovery, but remind me, just how much height did the ET flight have before it started ingesting rocks? Remember, the jackscrew had gone a long way soon after the autopilot disconnect.
Is much known about that particular vested interest issue? Frankly, I became hostile to that quasi-politition after his first public display.
We've discussed before the ability of a simulator to truly represent such a set of scenarios.
And, the shock factor, along with general psychological factors. And of course, the bazillion other arguments. I'm still with the 'could have done better but huge mitigation' camp.