although the demand for full power had been given by the pilots, the FADEC control had failed to respond.
If this were so, could it be caused by the infamous DECU connector coming loose or an intermittent fault due to contaminated or eroded contacts?
Hamish - If you are unaware, there was an instruction to carry out in-flight servicing every 15 mins to check a known problem, but no instructions as to what to do if it detached between servicing intervals (although MoD's position is the aircraft would "glide" to the ground).