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Judging from the CVR transcript, the AF447 pilots didn't realize for most of the plunge that they were stalled and rapidly losing altitude.

Why don't pilots in the cockpit get the same sensation of falling down as people in a rollercoaster or a falling elevator ? Both are situations in which you would unmistakeably know you are falling. (If you have never experienced a rollercoaster descent, believe me, it's noticeable ;-). So why and how does it differ for the pilot in the cockpit ?

You only feel the acceleration downward. In rollercoasted this sensation is maximized for maximum thrill. A stall isn't instant, Some parts of the wing can be stalled while the rest still provides proper lift. Once the airplane is near or at terminal velocity in a stall it will feel no different from regular straight and level flight.

The onset of the stall was paired with some turbulence which would mask the downward acceleration.

Pilots are also trained to ignore their own sensations because they can be misleading leading to spatial disorientation. You can be in a spiraling dive and still feel as if you are flying straight and level.

You only feel the plunging sensation during the initial downward acceleration. Once stabilized at a constant rate of descent, things feel normal again. The other thing is, the amount of vertical acceleration from a stall type maneuver does not result in 0 or negative G, just less than 1. You'll feel getting light in the seat, you won't lift right out and if you are being assaulted by several stimuli at once, as this crew was, you won't even notice it.

You can easily make an airplane go 0 G or negative by getting some speed and pushing hard. It's called a "bunt". I can make a pencil float in front of my face for about 3-5 seconds in my airplane (push a little bit too hard, and all the crap on the floor ends up on my canopy) If you are able to nail the 0G point precisely, it's exactly the same sensation as being in a space craft, although short lived. A jet going 300 kt can keep it up for 30 sec, which is how they train astronauts for weightlessness.

You are forgetting one large difference between an aircraft moving through the air (still generating some lift), and an object in free-fall. Constant velocity in a gravity well (such as on the Earth) will cause you to still experience the acceleration due to gravity. It's when you're accelerating that you feel different.

Think of it this way - imagine driving over a hill in a car with cruise control. It's only as you're cresting the hill do you feel "weightless", because you are accelerating downward. On the way down the hill (assuming cruise control maintains speed downhill in this car), you will experience gravity normally.