Originally Posted by BOAC
... the 2001 near accident to the 340 which entered an un-commanded zoom climb to below stall speed ...
Are you sure? From the AAIB report:
The indicated airspeed dropped below VLS (the lowest selectable) as the aircraft climbed and the commander took manual control
In cruise, VLS is a speed that provides a certain margin (0,3 g?) to buffet onset. The zoom climb occurred because the FCS entered into alpha-prot law and then maintains AoA=alphaprot until the pilot moves the sidestick. Alphaprot is less than alphamax and maintaining it stick-free prevents the airplane from stalling.