Spy
I don't intend to trawl through the umpteen pages here on PPRuNE, but I do recall figures of 9 degrees being quoted by some here as the initial target pitch attitude....9 degrees is way off 12.5 degrees and will invariably result in a significantly different profile and performance. At the time, I thought 9 degrees was a very shallow pitch attitude for any jet, regardless of weight, but didn't respond because I am not familiar with that specific series of Airbus.
Way back, we were always taught to go for a target pitch attitude, depending on weight and then adjust as necessary once airborne (airborne as opposed to rotation). Even on a mini jet like a B737 the pitch can vary between 12 degrees and 17.5 degrees, depending on weight, but the technique was always the same, target 15 degrees and then adjust; select the pitch and let the flight director settle down, then follow its direction. Everyone knows on the airbus that the cross represents something different on the ground; The cross is there to check you have full deflection of your flight control surfaces on the ground.
Notwithstanding the above, technique is vitally important. Pilots can only follow what they have been taught and maybe there is something lacking in either the manufacturer's published technique or that of the airline's training techniques. Remember back to the early incidents on the Airbus (A320) which were caused by ignorance of the flight crew of the various modes of flight (India)? After that, pilots were alerted to the 'big No NO's, such as the NFP turning his F/D off and the PF following orders on his! Lots of pilots learned by the misfortune of those that didn't have the benefit of that forewarning. The engineers who designed the systems could not understand why the pilots didn't appreciate these things!
Airbus technology is brilliant, but it can and will bite you in the ass, unless you are very lucky or very conversant with the technology. It's a big learning curve.
Sad to hear the crew lost their jobs. It would have been more appropriate to suspend them pending the results of the official investigation into the circumstances and the airline's training department's taught techniques.
EK used to be one of my heros, but I'm dissapointed by it's 'knee jerk' reaction to this incident. Maybe they thought this would 'gloss over' any perceived doubt of their safety by the travelling public. Sadly, they are mistaken in that regard, because a 'whitewash' is just that...a whitewash. Sacking the crew on the day, does not necessarily solve a more deep seated problem!