I have read all the posts from this thread, and I've kept myself quiet and still at least until some hard facts surfaced from the investigation team. So allow me a quick comment and a simple question.
Something really odd must have happened inside that cockpit during the approach, probably training related with the capt facing away from the instrument panel during those critical 100 secs.
- everyone and the cat have missed important clues from the instruments, namely the discrepancy between radalt readings in both LH and RH PFDs, the speed closing on Vref and not stopping there, etc, nobody saw it
- intercepting and establishing on the G/P is usually the cue for gear down and final flap setting, which prompts the A/T (or the pilot flying manually) to correct speed for the extra drag... didn't happen
- fairly constant airspeed bleeding leads to constant trimming with the pitch increasing to a higher than normal attitude for the config used... nobody noticed it
My question is: at the first stick-shakes would TOGA have brought the A/C out of that RETARD state, or would it be inhibited as well? And would it be feasible given the pre-stall high pitch attitude and the extra pitch up input from the engines at full burn?
GD&L