Spy,
Yes, you are correct in all you say. The problem here is the teaching of setting 9 deg with the Maltese and holding until "she bites the air". This equates to only a 4.5 to 5 deg pitch. At a DENSITY ALTITUDE at prob close to 7500 ft on the day, "she" aint gonna go anywhere near "biting".
I am not jumping to judgement here whatsoever, nor should any of us because we were not the poor bas#ards there on the day. However, as the snout is taken further up in attitude, obviously to the lads by now that it aint quite working "THE WAY THEY WERE BLOODY WELL TRAINED", the RWY disappears under the nose and how much RWY is left nobody knows. I would be surprised if these guys were able to see the threshold come and go due to the pitch attitude they now had to input and their normal eye level. TOGA was now applied and the rest is history.
EK management should be dropping to their pathetic knees in the fact that they had this particular driver at the helm and not some, well errr, ahhh, I dont think you should go there Lizard. !!!!