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A flight expert on Fox just mentioned “angle of attack” sensors, which have failed before because they freeze up, citing an accident over the Mediterrean in 2008. It is a known problem and directives have been issued.

Partially true, that is actually conflating two separate issues. Air France 447 over the South Atlantic had frozen pitot probes, and the crew responded exactly opposite to what they should have done.

A recent Lufthansa had a Air Data Computer failure, which initiated an uncommanded 2,000 foot descent. The crew responded correctly and regained control.

This is a hot topic for Airbus pilots in the past few months. We have very specific and rapid procedures to handle both issues. None of which would prevent the crew from communicating for 10 minutes. Some emergency procedures are very involved and could preclude communication, but these are like that.

In the case of the first issue, there are no direct actions - just verification of attitude, and then a checklist. The second issue takes 2 seconds, pushing 2 buttons, and regains 100% control. That one is a memory-type response for all Airbus pilots world wide.

What is also missing is the descent into terrain. It simply cannot happen in an Airbus if the pilots are conscious. Similar to collision avoidance in modern autos, it sends off alerts well before hitting terrain. It measures rate of closure and alerts with sufficient time to completely avoid terrain, with maximum performance.