"Different matter for an experienced experimental TP but we are talking about two line F/Os who (so far as I am able to divine) had no broader experience"
Thank you John Tullamarine, for that comment. One must remember, beyond the fact that the pilots had probably never experienced "out of the flight envelope" excursions, on other planes, as some of us did, at the time of the accident:
-no procedure relating to the stall of the A330 was integrated in the QRH (quick reference handbook)
-The procedure was in the abnormal complementaires (PAC) in the Air France documentation and in the supplementary items in the airbus FCTM.
It appears (modified) in the QRH in august 2010 (Emergency manoeuvers).
It is then seriously modified, again, in the QRH in october 2010.
The stall, until the accident, was not listed in the emergency manoeuvers, and staying competent by recurrent exercises (especially at high altitude) was never considered. The approach to the stall (as the aircraft, of course, prevents you from entering it), was occasionally demonstrated at low altitude, with a drill totally unsuitable to the high altitudes. It si only now that everybody is really sure that lowering the nose and reducing the thrust if necessary, at high altitude, will get you out of trouble... The Airbus FCTM said that it was not necessary to train the pilots to the stall recovery (Operational Philosophy/Flight controls/ Page 01.020 7th january 2009) and Air France had the same attitude (stall recovery training only for "classical" airplanes. The Bus was considered unstallable. I insist on this for my pilot friends who speak of the competent pilots as opposed, apparently, to the crew. Take a look at the pilots experience. Only taking one copilot, not to bore you, no mention of any high altitude manual flying on the A330, and last useful training on that issue in 1998 on the A320...For the captain, 2001.
Sad but true. I was very experienced when I left the job, and I do not entertain the notion, a single second, that they were incompetent. Just had not seen it, had not been there...