gear down and locked:
if you haven't briefed the terrain feattures in the approach phase of flight, you haven't done your job. Also, the crew was VMC at this point in the flight, having left the clouds behind.
Certainly, holding altitude or gaining altitude is a good thing to do. And avoiding a full stall is a good thing to do too. But Colgan 3407 didn't avoid a full stall did they? And if you are fully stalled you are going to lose altitude...or don't you know that? Again...FULLY STALLED.