I know what you mean, Newt and agree the forces would be easily manageable when low speed over the top. What I was considering was a hyd snag on the way down and control(s) reverting to manual, with the subsequent pull required to exit the 'loop' increasing as the speed increased. I could imagine Andy being more than capable of exerting the required back-stick pressure initially but, maybe, the required force to recover in the height available, as the speed increased, was just not available.
How does that explain the large, sudden increase in pitch rate shortly before the crash, which to me, looks like the point of recognition?
ZeBedie,
A suggestion might be that the hyds returned to life and the sudden 'snap' of pitch change that we see is the result of the stick being held back/pulled back in manual and then, suddenly, having the benefit of hydraulic power applied to flight controls. It obviously takes XXX seconds for that effect of the controls to materialise but, in the meantime, gravity continues to suck and the velocity vector stays in place.