The AAIU's statement that "the Investigation notes and accepts the Co-Pilot's statement that he thought the circuit breaker for the CVR had been pulled" doesn't seem to support that hypothesis.
Of course the co-pilot would say that, wouldn't he? Mandy Rice-Davies all over again. It should take less than three seconds for a captain to take over immediate control. After all even junior flying instructors do that every day if the student cocks up a landing.
But from the report, it seems the captain sat on his hands and failed to do so until other gyrations ceased. Why the inordinate delay which further exacerbated the situation? Presumably if the F/O was PF the captain had given him "the leg" and was totally relaxed in the belief the F/O could handle anything unusual. It is called complacency. There are some captains who display marked reluctance to take control quickly from their F/O. Lack of moral courage maybe and the desire not to be regarded as a 'wimp.'
Clearly a monumental over-reaction by the F/O to bunt the aircraft twice despite every indication all it was a erroneous airspeed reading. Leaving the automatics engaged during this event again demonstrated the danger of automation dependency. The ability to instantly switch off the automatics (Click-Click) and go seamlessly into manual flight where necessary to fix a problem, is a skill rarely practiced during simulator training. Yet it is a vital airmanship skill that all airline pilots should possess. Without being given regular the opportunity to practice that skill, competency soon atrophies.