Originally Posted by mm43
We seem to have a difference of opinion over what happened following the AP/ATHR disconnect.
- yes, from the report of May, the 'difference' is that I am unable to ascertain exactly what sequence happened, while you appear to be able to! Anyway, 1230GMT today and hopefully we will know a lot more.
To summarise where I sit on AM 29 July:
The SW's following A/P disconnect are unexplained and a 'puzzle' - possibly due turbulence, possibly due to a low faulty IAS, possibly due to over-controlling in pitch or ???. It does not take a big pitch change at FL350 at that weight to push past the stall warning alpha - perhaps 'recovering' from a perceived drop in altitude?
The zoom climb, apparently 'unremarked' by either pilot, is a puzzle.
After the a/c 'flopped over' at FL380 and began to sink in a (possibly unrecognised) stalled condition - this is far less of a puzzle, due to their lack of experience of the 'impossible' full stall - as in PGF. My gut feeling is that from somewhere between 15 and 20k, they had insufficient altitude to recover anyway.
Why the AB software stops the stall warning when the a/c is deeply stalled defeats my logic.
My sincere hope, however, is that most FBW/software (particularly AB) pilots (and the training system) have had some quiet, contemplative and sobering thoughts over the last few months about what they need to think about and what the system might NOT do for them.