The pilots looked like they were getting a checkride. Demonstrating the Initial Buffet type maneuver was probably the plan. The recovery would have been to unload the G by using bank and power until the nose fell below the horizon then roll wings level and recover. The horizontal stabilizer is on top of the tail and is out of the broken air cause by the impending stall thus no aerodynic warning of the stall. They had no idea the plane was going to roll inverted. Boeing would never have let them intentionally over stress the airplane like they did. At 10,000', they would have died. There is reason stalls in the type are prohibited and we just saw the reason.
Boeing bought McDonald-Douglas and renamed the DC-9 and variants like S-80 to B-717.
Those guys were probably Functional Check Flight pilots testing the stall warning system. Stalls are prohibited. The way it should have worked a 'stick shaker' would start shaking the stick, the the stall warning would flash along with audio 'Stall, Stall, Stall them the stick pusher kicks in to that it won't stall. None of that appeared to happen. The 'Clicker' sounded and the 'Over Speed' aural warning sounded. The probably over 'G' the plane. If it had been a military plane, it would be on display at the main gate.
I pulled the gear up thinking it was the flaps on a touch and go in a T-37. They came up just as I broke ground. My instructor accused me of hotdogging. I apologized.
On an all nighter from SEA to DFW a man was poking all the passengers around him with his finger. I had the flight attendants move people away from him so he could not reach them. That worked wel for awhile Later he stood up in he seat, lowered his pants and took dump in his seat. Then he sat down in it. He had a mental problem. We let him off in SLC.
