Nobody has commented yet my suggestion of the encounter with very warm air.
Can somebody who knows how to interpret Tim's excellent met analysis well enough tell what the SAT would have been, had the airplane encountered a patch of very warm air inside the MCS. I am particularly interested in the idea that IF the A330 was not equipped with the Backup Speed Scale (AoA-based), that how difficult would it have been to control the airplane if at the same time warm air was present in a way that the aircraft effectively climbed several thousand feet (increasing stall speed in the process) ?
rgds,
Tero