JD-EE;
Yes, well, aircraft can be designed to fly without a vertical stabilizer when ways of controlling yaw are provided as in the cases cited. Also, as you'd know, some military aircraft require fbw because they are too unstable, (hence highly maneuverable) to hand fly. I believe "learning how" wouldn't be the impediment.
I agree with your last comment JD-EE because it's been proven a number of times with crippled transport aircraft. The results are mixed but that doesn't negate the likelihood.
In my estimation, under the circumstances which the AF447 crew faced, (I am assuming RP in the left seat, F/O in the right), re-learning how to fly an A330 with a missing VS, whether in ideal conditions or (depending upon when it is assumed by others that the VS departed before impact), with a stream of ECAM messages and audio warnings, in turbulence, in darkness, in cloud, with no airspeed information is an unlikely proposition and would result in the outcome described in my post above.
Last edited by PJ2; 9th Apr 2011 at 05:15.