my hubby is a pilot-he has a theory about this. He referenced a “pito” sensor. Possibly malfunctioned. If it malfunctioned it would give the pilots a false airspeed indication without necessarily giving a fault indication. Its the same as if you are driving down the interstate and your speedometer malfunctions. Except in a plane you can’t tell how fast you are going. He thinks that the plane was going slower than what they thought and consequently stalled because the computer on the plane “thought” it was going faster than it was. And it continued to go slower and slower until the stall warning was activated and then the autopilot is deactivated. Consequently, now the pilots find themselves in a stall with airspeed indications that are inaccurate. He also mentioned that it would be in France’s best interest to not cast blame on the plane itself since they have a financial interest in it’s success. Sooooo, blame the pilot. Always, especially if the pilot is already dead, blame the pilot.
Just his two cents worth......
Here is an example a little easier to relate to.
And... btw, it’s spelled ‘pitot tube’.
Remember that show where people do crazy stunts? They would have a person be blindfolded and drive, with a passenger giving them instructions on how to drive. The object was to drive the car up onto the ramp of a trailer, that was being pulled along at an even speed.
Now imagine that you blindfold the passenger.
That is why being up at high altitude, in the dark, and having your gauges go funky is like.
“He thinks that the plane was going slower than what they thought”
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I am would think the plane had at least two pito tubes, which are heated to prevent ice.
If ice blocked them, it should indicate a slower then actual speed.
Someone can correct me if I am wrong.