Originally Posted by HN39
The only way to 'pull up' in that situation is to increase thrust to accelerate to a speed greater than Valphamax.
No need for acceleration, sufficient thrust alone will do.
Originally Posted by Dozy
That the action to do so (holding down A/THR disconnect) was erroneously omitted
It was not erroneously omitted, it was simply not necessary.
Originally Posted by Chris Scott
Regarding the flypast as executed, you will have noted that it was flown well below 100R, and (as Dozy Wannabe writes above) it is not entirely clear whether the captain ever carried out his briefed manual inhibition of Alpha Floor.
If he had, I do suspect the BEA would not have kept quiet about it.
Originally Posted by gums
In any other plane at that time, he would likely have stalled and crashed right in front of everybody there.
Or he could have got what was still in the aerodynamics to attempt to survive the tree tops and head back to BSL ...