My theory is that the speed measuring pitot tubes iced over and auto pilot increased the engine power. Turbulence from the storm cell caused buffeting that overloaded the trim stabilizers and the aircraft lost control. Autopilot switched off by by then the aircraft was in a steep dive, exceeded airframe limits and broke apart.
A new type of control system on board does not allow pilots to over-steer. However when that system is not getting accurate data it can also keep pilots from obtaining control in a spiraling dive.
One of the hazards of fly-by-wire, computers are not good at emergencies. When unusual events layer on one another....the computers may not have a competent software response. How do you program human intuition and doubt? Those are essential for emergency decisions.
Experienced pilots have hunches and a feel for flying that cannot be replaced by computers. But then computers are cheaper, don't unionize, and allow lesser trained and cheaper pilots to be hired.
What about the French subs? Why do we have to do it?
Why would it be necessary for the sensor pitot tubes to ice over? The navigation computer apparently uses three sets of tubes to monitor velocity components in three dimensional space. Lets assume horizontal flight during which the plane flies into a "micro burst" of several hundred mph downward. Would not that appear to the "Z" axis sensor as a rapid climb which would cause the autopilot to go hard over into a dive, just exactly the wrong thing to do in a severe downdraft? I can not figure out how the system can differentiate between a speed signal generated by motion of the plane and one generated by the wind alone. Nor can I understand why they are not using inertial guidance which has no external sensors to confuse the issue.
Maybe I'm not seeing something obvious here, but it seems to me that a three axis system based on pitot tubes is almost certain to get bogus signals from external wind forces and icing can only make matters worse.
Regards,
GtG
If it is as deep as they say, the batteries and electronics may have been crushed by the extreme pressures at that depth.