Thanks Lonewolf.
Was that intentional?
Yes. Partly because we don't know what he saw, and partly because his actions (the one's we've been told about so far) lend credence to the notion he either had no attitude display, or he may not have believed what he saw... and the only tidbits of conversation we know of express doubt: "we have no indications", "je ne comprend rien".
So if that primary display is either absent or doubted, there's my question. -if he did indeed see 40-60 degrees nose up, it would appear from his actions that he wasn't buying that. - and I can well imagine he was looking at a number of rather confusing things - including flagged or absent displays - that could have caused doubt...
Having only had ab-initio instrument flight training myself, I am aware, at least, that one needs to disregard what one "feels" the a/c is doing, and trust your instruments.... But when your confidence in those instruments has been shattered, I can see someone resorting to actions based on what their body tells them.
So, I wonder what most pilots would conclude from that feeling?
Hopefully the CVR will enlighten us as to any further talk of their displays...?