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Old 27th Mar 2016, 04:52
  #843 (permalink)  
Otto Throttle
 
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The press and some contributors seem to be making the assumption that the "Don't do that" on the CVR corresponds to some catastrophic pilot action. I'm struggling to think what could have been changed or deselected at this point in flight which was instant and irreversible.

I'm of the opinion the aircraft was still in a landing configuration at impact, suggesting a wind shear event (consistent with starting altitude and subsequent performance). This means flaps would have initially been set at flap 30. Even if the alleged pilot action was flap retraction, the initial motion would have been an improvement in performance, not a sudden stall. Any further retraction may be an issue, but it is not instantaneous, and given the apparent speeds, very unlikely at this weight to have left the aircraft at a dangerously low speed. A flap mis-selection could also very quickly be reset. Personally, I don't buy it.
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