“it appears that the co-pilots of the AF447 failed to recognize the stall and flew the vehicle into the ocean.
_____________________________________
Well, in a stall, they did not fly the plane into the ocean.
It fell into the ocean.
What I do not understand is why they ignored the stall, instead of pushing the stick forward to regain airspeed.
That was the early theory, last year. The latest data shows a controlled descent. The airplane was pointed nose up, at a very high pitch (35 degrees?) and as result only a fraction of the engines' power was used to generate forward motion (that creates lift.) Most of the power was used to hold the airplane in the air, like a rocket... and you can do it only in a powerful military airplane, and only for very short time.
So the airliner was on a controlled (though unwanted) descent right to the moment it touched water. The next report, with more data and probably with simulations, is expected in July.
What I do not understand is why they ignored the stall, instead of pushing the stick forward to regain airspeed.
The stall warning system malfunctioned because of wrong airspeed. There were two warnings, but I have no idea which of them were true and which weren't. This is something only the investigators can tell.