AF447 wreckage found

[HazelNuts39]

RE:: Lyman #3036

It all depends. Yes, as you say, pitch attitude in level flight and still air would have been about 2.5 degrees nose-up. At AP disconnect, pitch was zero and slowly increasing at about 0.6 deg/s. Also the power had been pulled back from 100%N1 in still air cruise to about 85%N1. A little while ago I explained that these conditions are consistent with the airplane maintaining speed and altitude in an updraft of about 1000 fpm. 'Doing nothing' would have maintained these conditions until a change in the environment. Let's suppose the airplane left the updraft and entered an area of still air. Leaving pitch and power unchanged, it would then descend at 1000 fpm at constant speed. To restore level flight, the pilot would have to pitch up to 2.5 degrees nose-up, and increase power to 100%N1. If entering a down-draft, a little more of both. I think that the transition from updraft to still air or downdraft would explain the 'delay' in the airplane starting to climb.