The pilots did not need to diagnose the system. It would have been obvious that the trim system was running, and was causing the nose down. The trim cutoff systems are right there on the center console. They dealt with the issue for 12 minutes, lightning reflexes were not necessary.
The NTSB will of course look into the CVR, the pilots' training, background and track record to try to figure out why they did not use the cutoff switches. I'm very curious about that.
Similar types of accidents have occurred in the past and turned out to be CRM (Cockpit Resource Management) issues, where the copilot recognized what was wrong but was intimidated by the pilot into doing nothing.
The NTSB will of course look into the CVR, the pilots' training, background and track record to try to figure out why they did not use the cutoff switches. I'm very curious about that.
Similar types of accidents have occurred in the past and turned out to be CRM (Cockpit Resource Management) issues, where the copilot recognized what was wrong but was intimidated by the pilot into doing nothing.