Dozy, Chris r r r
I think unnecessary lengthy technical discussion is going on when there are some simple aviation facts staring in the face. I do not know what was planned but you can see what was executed. The pilot decided to slow the aircraft to minimum speed taking advantage of the AOA protection, fly level and go around. In any aircraft primary instrument of flight path change is pitch. The thrust maintains speed. The pitch up caused by thrust is secondary effect. Incidentally it is dampened in A320 by FBW and you need to pitch up. Not doing so was a possible cause of another crash. When pilot was late in setting the precise thrust to fly level at 100ft the aircraft sank. He could not pull back because he was at MAX or near MAX AOA so unable to change the flight path. Thrust was the only alternative but being at idle for a while it takes about 4 seconds to get out of idle and when you are sinking from 40ft, 4seconds must have seemed like a life time. So he panicked and thought ATHR was not behaving and moved the thrust levers manually. Alpha floor should have come between alpha prot and alpha max. Now the question is how and when exactly was it disconnected? There are three possibilities.
1. It was disconnected permanently before slowing down started. This does not seem probable as the pilot expected thrust activation.
2. It was disconnected as it got activated between alpha prot and alpha Max. In this case alpha floor will remain dormant till the speed increases beyond Valpha prot.
It is possible pilot did not know this considering the technology was new and that is why he was surprised by lack of response.
3. He may have been holding on to the disconnect button to prevent alpha floor till speed came to alpha max and inadvertently exceeded 15 seconds because he was preoccupied visually and disabled it.
In any case he needed quick response to gain those critical extra 50ft which was not possible because of the max angle of attack.
Why should a line pilot who only has access to FCOMS indulge in manoeuvres which even the test pilot did not, in radically different aircraft? I am unable to comprehend that.