The Energy Wasn't Dissipated
"It appears that AF447 came down rapidly, but how did it dissipate all that energy in perhaps 5-8 minutes and then impact at relatively low airspeed and high angle of attack?"
That's the problem. With enough elevator control power and no computer between you and it to restrict G, you can yank the nose up without changing the velocity vector much at first. The pitot won't read much airspeed because it's looking forward and not down, but you're still going down at almost the same rate of descent, which is consistent with a high angle of attack.
Last edited by Tailspin Turtle; 19th Sep 2009 at 16:31.