HN39 wrote:-
I also believe that the airplane probably stalled one or more times in those final minutes. Is it certain that it was stalled in the final seconds?
That is relevant, and is the question that somehow doesn't seem to generate a positive answer, especially when we are faced with -
"avec une assiette positive, une faible inclinaison et avec une vitesse verticale importante"
or -
"with a positive attitude, a low [bank] angle and with a significant vertical velocity"
BEA Reports provide some indicators that support the stall theory, but whether the descent was marked by a series of stalls and partial recoveries, is like everything we are dealing with, just conjecture. The tail yawing to port on impact provides (imo) a small clue as to how the "positive attitude", "low bank angle" and "vertical speed" were attained, i.e. in a "deep stall" where a clockwise rotation had a stabilizing outcome in the "lost lift" vortex.
The ROD from your calculations with 5 degrees nose-up may be interesting.
Damage to the Radome showed a significant upward moment, but the horizontal moment at impact failed to shatter the top section. So the GS at impact "en ligne de vol" would appear to be quite low - 60 knots?
mm43