[Disclaimer: PP SEL, 200 hr, none in the past 35 years, but intensely followed the original AF447 threads due to interest in the search, and read much of the BEA report when it came out.]
Re: Why did the PF hold the side-stick back? FlightDetent touched on this:
Originally Posted by
FlightDetent
There is a demonstration of a ground escape technique with hard AoA hard protections (pull full back-stick, fear nothing). If that is left to be the strongest impression on the student, many things had gone severely sideways in the training.
What I recall (perhaps incorrectly) from the original threads is that most AF training (and maybe other organizations) in A330 stalls is with respect to approach/departure stalls at low altitude,
in Normal Mode, and that the procedure called for advancing thrust (TOGO?) and pulling
back on the stick. With these inputs the plane,
in Normal Mode, will recover itself with minimal altitude loss. It is entirely possible that the PF retained only this memory, as FlightDetent suggests. I further recall that the pilots verbally acknowledged the transition to Alternate Law 2 (without verbally confirming the implications, whether or not such confirmation should be expected). Evidently (from memory), Alternate Law 2 removes stall protection, retaining over-stress protection. It seems possible, even likely, that the PF didn't understand that AL2 has no stall protection, or didn't internalize the call-out of AL2.
Over and out.