Originally Posted by sensor validation
Rhetorical question I guess but altitude also rose above 'the maximum cruising level displayed on the Flight Management and Guidance System (FMGS)' = FL360+1000ft. So I believe the aircraft was below a speed where it could maintain steady level flight which is one definition of 'stall speed'
Not rhetorical at all. Stall speeds are determined power off. The ability to maintain level flight is not part of the definition. Nothing in the report indicates the airplane went below Vs1g.
Interesting thought exercise - what would have happened if pilot didn't recover Normal control?
Interesting indeed. I think a simulator exercise or computer simulation is needed to answer that question. EDIT:: The airplane ultimately probably ends up in 1g flight at a speed corresponding to alpha-prot, descending or climbing depending on the thrust that has been set. It will probably do that in a phugoid (oscillatory) motion. How it does that can be established in a simulation. The important thing is: it won't stall before the pilots have finished their coffee, IMO.