Originally Posted by
captin_tea
As i understand it, this aircraft was descending "straight? and level" at 10,000 ft/min therefore its AoA was pretty much 90ş.
Ahem... no. Incorrect assumption. "straight and level" doesn't imply "with zéro forward speed". Only if you have "straight and level + zéro forward speed" will your AoA be ~90°
Actual AoA from AF447 can be read easily on the published FDR traces, it was never close to 90°.
However:
- given the situation, indeed TOGA was bad, Idle would have been better
- given the situation, indeed all pax in front would have help; no idea if it would have been significant