IMC
Quote RWA
The A340 crew were fortunate in that they were operating in daylight and no doubt had a visible horizon to work with.
Remark EMIT: the Artificial Horizon is a perfect replacement for the Natural Horizon, the AI is used 100 % of the time during night and IMC conditions. A pitch of 15 degrees nose up is visibly crystal clear on an AI and is highly unusual in a civvie airliner at FL 350. The suggestion of another poster that maybe, the line Pitch 15, Thrust TOGA was inappropriately "quoted" inside the PF's head might hold some value. (the quoted pitch/power combination is the one to use in case of speed indication loss just after lift-off).
Quote RWA
But OK - if the 'systems' didn't cause the AF447 upset, what (in your opinion) did?
Remark EMIT: IF after all, the PF did not himself STEER the a/c into the zoom climb, then at least he should have seen the pitch change to 15 degr nose up, a very inappropriate pitch at that altitude, and should have tried to steer that pitch down to a normal value of 2 or 3 degrees above the horizon. This was not done, a lot of backstick was maintained.
Even though stall warnings, speeds or whatever were rightly or wrongly blaring, every big jet pilot must know that 15 degrees nose up at FL 350 is not gonna work in the long run (longer than a few seconds).