Regarding the BAC 1-11 superstall accident and other such accidents and likely true for AF447, Davies' comments still ring true, “There is no point in discussing the irrecoverable case any further, except perhaps to say that those aeroplanes which have been lost in such manoeuvres finally reached the ground substantially level laterally, having defied all efforts to roll or spin them out of the stabilized condition; only slightly nose down in pitch, with little or no forward speed; at an extremely high incidence; rotating only very slowly in yaw; with (in one case) all the engines flamed out because of being exposed to such massive angles of incidence; and finally with an enormous vertical velocity.”
Bearfoil, If AF447 lost the VS anytime except within seconds of impact, wouldn't we have ACARS messages regarding loss of hydraulic systems? Is it really necessary to have lost the VS to explain how the aircraft was lost? Isn't a deep stall sufficient?
OCCAM'S Razor says don't make things more complicated than they need to be.
Henra, wouldn't all water trapped in the pitot system that was above its temperature flash point flash to steam, and the last bit of water to flash to steam as the pressure increased would be the hottest water that remained in the system after the pressure rise shut off the flashing of the slightly cooler water. Unless you assume blockages behind the main blockage or high flow velocities in the tubing, all the trapped volume of "air" in a particular pitot system will be at the same pressure.