the pilot only had 9 seconds to avoid the cliff.
Either the Sukhoi was winning the speed contest at 5600 km/hour for that 9 seconds, or there was a lot more time from the last known coordinates. Of course the last known coordinates are not particularly useful in knowing when the occupants of the flight deck saw the holes in the cheese lining up.
How I understand this ...
The pilot had a visual of the obstacle (mountain or cliff)
“Oh my God, what is this?”
9 seconds before the impact