Sort of O/T: ABS Brakes
Going back to a previous topic in this tread:
A recent study in the USA indicates that cars fitted with ABS brakes are 65% MORE LIKELY to be involved in a fatal accident, compared to those without....
The problem - driver training. Particularly for those that simply regard the car as an extension of their sofa, jump in and press go, without understanding even the basics of the various systems fitted to their car. The report found that drivers unaware of the function of ABS were RELEASING the brake pedal at the point the ABS kicked in to apply-release-apply-release... the brakes for them, with the end result of significantly extended braking distances, which is the exact opposite of what was expected.
The point? Any system intended to aid a human operate some piece of equipment MUST require the operator to understand every applicable operational aspect of the equipment in question. Otherwise, and as seen above, the very point of the safety system may be invalidated by the human operator.
Does this apply to the AF447 crash? I would say very much so. Just like a driver with ABS, the fact the car has them doesn't avoid the need to steer appropriately, select the correct speed for the road conditions, or turn on the windscreen wipers, any pilot sitting in the cockpit of an Airbus or Boeing for that matter better understand the key operational systems affecting his/her ability to fly the aircraft, and if that includes some less common degraded modes of operation, then especially so, since the point where these kick-in are likely to be the same point that the aircraft is about to go pear-shaped or worse.