VicMel
I think it is unlikely a pitot tube caused the avalanche of ACARS, as you also propose. Of more interest to me is the operation of the a/c prior to the AP disconnect that occurred within the parameters of control limits the AP was programmed with. These limits are not narrow, the Pitch allowables are I believe 24 degrees (15 U and 9 D). The Roll limits are 45 degrees per side, for a total excursion of 90 degrees. Is it possible that the crew were satisfied with a rough ride that took the a/c to its limits of "comfort"? We hear from time to time of the explicit Faith put into this a/c by its pilots, and a desire to fly to the AP disconnect as a conscious decision is certainly plausible. If at this time, Law regression and bunk weather forced an immediate decision on the part of this crew to NOT re-engage AP, upset may have already occurred, and as has been explained so many times, conditions of flight were marginal perhaps in ALL respects, and control may not have been recaptured. To me, it is difficult to imagine an orderly march of messages in transmitted messages of ACARS, the sheer number alone suggests that the system had been totally overwhelmed v/v sequencing prior to AP drop. If upset had occurred in this way, the failure of three pitots virtually simultaneously suggests an Unusual attitude or two were involved in the bunk AS reads. imo.
bear