To snowfalcon #1, and infrequentflyer: Maybe. But we would then have to reconcile this with the apparent fact that one main is lying close to the start of the debris trail, which suggests rather that they weren't stowed. Or at least not completely stowed. That might account for it.
To snowfalcon #2: no, the protection does not allow the AoA to exceed AlphaMax. (A stall would be LOC, wouldn't it, not CFIT.)
Another puzzle: If the aircraft were pointing 16+° in the air when the tail hit, where are the swathes from the blast of those engines, which I would expect to see before the "tail cone impact" point?
Suppose one says: they were idling. I don't think that would fit: if they were idling, how come the nose would have been pointing 16+° up?
PBL
Last edited by PBL; 19th May 2010 at 10:54.
Reason: forgot whom I was replying to!