jack. It is a well known tool in emer. descent, provided the a/c is up to it, and in a sufficient emergency, it doesn't really matter, does it?
Stick back, held, and descend with roll control, and recover as you say when a spot is found to plant. If the ground is not visible, and depending on the a/c, impact is to some extent "survivable" (see Schiphol).
Fast jets do this, though not the "impact" part, hopefully.
Also in the quiver is Flat Plate, a 90 degree AoA fast brake.
As we see in 447, much of the a/c was isolated from the more destructive impact in the tail and belly. Witness the pristine galley, tray shelving, and other bits.
Though not fully addressed, the survivability of the impact is not discussed. For good reason. God Forbid some survived, only to drown, or die of exposure. Imagine the
PR disaster that would be. Only the most gruesome autopsies are released, as they herd the conclusion to "No Survivors of Impact". For those with some patience, and a sceptic's eye, this investigation is.....fishy.
Momoe: They
did handle it, and your expectation is of success. Analyze the "handling"? Listen to them,
completely, there was no
abdication of handling. You make it sound as though the pilots were quitters at the outset. Of course the expectation is of success. Failing that, the baby goes out with the bathwater?
From the CVR, at the outset with Captain's arrival, the pilots state they are out of ideas, and that they do not know what is wrong. That leaves us to figure out what they missed, not difficult, as the data is found, reasonably complete, we think.
That leaves the Captain's training. I will admit I am not fond of this Captain's apparent leadership skill. For what we think from the other pilots comments, he is expected to sort the mess out, and ostensibly becomes instead merely an audience of one.
At this point, I believe the pilots messed up, with "help" from Airbus. I cannot excuse the apparent lack of good planning in programming the aircraft to degrade into touchy ROLL, yet remain same in PITCH feel, and with the loss of Alpha Protection. It is a trap.
Who wants to handle an airplane that changes the way it flies in one axis, but retains the response in another, and there is loss of STALL protect on top of that?
One should not have two commanders at the controls. The BUS, and the PF.