2 h 11 min 06
PNF: (…) il vient ou pas
There's been some discussion as to whether "il" refers to the captain or the aircraft (Avion is masculine in French, so from a purely grammatical sense "il" could be l'avion.)
If you read the entire CVR transcript we have, there is no other reference to "il" referring to the aircraft. The three pilots usually say "je" ("I"), "tu" (second person singular "you"), or "on" (which here means "we", as in "on monte" -- "we're climbing"). That is, they always refer to either their own individual actions or to themselves collectively (which includes the aircraft, as they are in it). Nowhere else do they seem to refer to the aircraft as a distinct object. In my experience, this is common. You would say "il" refering to an airplane if you were outside it watching it; you would not usually say "il" if you were inside it.
"il vient" also would be a very unusual way to refer to an aircraft maneuver, unless one was at an airport waiting for the aircraft to arrive, for example. If it were "il monte" or "il descend" or "il se redresse" (he's recovering") or "il pique" (he's diving) it would make more sense, but I cannot think of any maneuver where a pilot would say "il vient".
So my conclusion is that "il" refers to the captain, and not the aircraft.