I'm quite sick and tired of people who should know better blaming Airbus for this crash. Had there been a different crew flying that night, they would have landed safely. I've said before and will state again:-
a. You don't flying a heavy 'plane (close to coffin corner, at high altitude) into a storm
b. You set up the radar at top of climb
c. You must know the memory items for loss of airspeed drill (and others)
d. You must understand what super-cooled water is and how it can affect your 'plane.
e. As someone pointed out, even if they did nothing, the aircraft is stable enough to right itself. However if you deliberately hold back pressure when you shouldn't, well.............
f. There is no harm in circumnavigating a storm, even if it means making a fuel stop. That's why the pay pilots big bucks, to be SAFE not stupid
This a very sad accident that should never have happened, and I hope by now most of you have learned some valuable lessons from it. I flew the A320 for over 10 years and never encountered any serious problems handling it. If you don't understand your airplane, don't try to fly it. Find something else to do with your life..
Thermostat.