Jeff;
. . . but what should the crew have done according to the operator's UAS procedure
An aircrew is expected to use their collective heads and first, "do no harm". In the end, for those who fly, it's
all guidance for the ultimate decision-maker, the pilot, who always answers for his/her decisions in one way or another.
Transport aircraft ARE to be flown by the book, but not absolutely slavishly; we already have people who think that pilotless airliners are a probability; while technically they are, it is not going to happen under the present aviation system.
Like a number of contributors here who's knowledge, experience and capacities I have enormous respect for, I have enough experience on the A330 and other transport aircraft to be able to know when to follow the book (99.9% of the time) and when not to, (0.1% of the time and it may keep one alive).
You can't write that kind of stuff in any manual. What's more, no software engineer(s) is(are) presently capable of designing a system that can even mimic such comprehension let alone "decide". Decideability is a philosophical and perhaps pyschological concept, not a technical one.
Pitching an A330 to 5deg NU at FL350, (a 2.5 to 3deg change) would result in an
enormous increase in climb rate. Any experienced transport pilot would know this instinctively and never be expected to take such drastic action. I cannot translate the full French QRH
précis for the UAS drill in Appendix 9 so I don't know what guidance is offered the crew. The AF drill however, clearly advises, after the memorized items, that the pilots to follow the table which is similar to the one I posted.
None of this means anything against what is on the DFDR/CVR.
PJ2