i think there was mention of the auto pilot being turned off.
if the crew got it into a stall, and it was night(i don't remember what time this happened), over the water, there is nothing. nothing at ALL for reference.
had something happened that allowed the aircraft to get into a stall, and the crew got a little "behind the curve" in correcting....now they're going to go on what they feel, rather than what their instruments tell them.
all that being said, i've obviously not flown anything that big, and am just speculating.