to suggest the flight crew did not understand Alternate law is ridiculous.
A trained crew or anybody with even a basic knowledge of the aircraft will understand what happens when you revert from Normal to Alt and Direct law.
Surely any pilot, knowing that he has climbed above his WAT limit would lower the nose
Just some recent quotes (there are dozens scattered throughout the various threads) to illustrate my point, which is - In my experience & from what I have seen on the line, I suspect that some pilots are being given too much credit!
Unfortunately the days are long gone where one can assume that, just because an individual is an airline pilot, he/she is capable, well trained & competent.