Originally Posted by
LeineLodge
It's been awhile, but I seem to remember he was trying to perform an Alpha-floor demonstration. Something about it doesn't kick in below a certain altitude (obviously, he was unaware of this.) By the time they realized A-floor wasn't going to engage, I think he did hit TOGA, but they were already too low/slow/behind the power curve to recover.
That's correct. The test pilot was trying to demonstrate the stall prevention feature which includes Alpha Floor. Alpha Floor is when the logic pushes the thrust to max power and locks there so recovery occurs.
Unfortunately, the test pilot was some how unaware that this feature is unavailable below 100 ft AGL, because you don't want it to activate as you are in the flare. By the time he realized it, it was too late.