pax britanica on this thread every conceivable speculation has been debated and discussed to complete exhaustion. Any suggestion that automatics may be exacerbating the incidence of aviation accidents is not supported by those cited. There is very little communality in the majority of air accidents, each and every one involves a unique and lengthy chain of complex events. That is the sole communality to all air accidents. Never one that can be reduced to a single factor.
The outstanding feature in this instance is the large pitch down moment applied to a large aircraft at low level, at high energy and inertia. That seems to be the sum total of the facts known so far.