too far removed
Just to touch on some of the very well made comments above, my simple yet serious query is thus:
Are some commercial pilots now so far removed from the physics of flight/aerodynamics that a simple flight system component failure can more easily result in LoC?
No disrespect whatsoever to those who lost their lives, and to be clear I believe they were victims of the times rather than their own shortcomings (ditto AF447 crew), but, at the moment of indicated attitude change and subsequent A/P disconnect, there were no corresponding changes in altitude, airspeed or vertical speed. The crew therefore diagnosed the problem as one which must have defied the laws of physics/aerodynamics (ditto the AF447 crew).
In other words, the situation the crew assumed they were in, could not possibly have existed. The parallels with AF447 are alarming in this respect.
Additionally, given that an uncommanded change in attitude (& A/P disconnect) is an unusual occurrence, especially during the cruise phase, such an occurrence ought to prompt a logical evaluation of the overall physical/aerodynamic situation before acting, for example; pitch check, roll check, yaw check, power check, altitude check, speed check, VSI check, fuel check etc.
From that point, the issue might have been resolved logically to a successful conclusion.
My personal favourite example of a crew response along the lines of what I'm attempting to convey, and fear may be in decline at least in some circles, is BA009 in 1982. The crew of that flight responded to an utterly unfathomable situation using logic and a thorough understanding of the physics of flight and, as a result, were able to save many lives over the Indian Ocean that night.
All just IMHO of course.