Sounds like something catastrophic, maybe they hit softball sized hail, or extreme turbulence.

I'm also wondering what their gross weight/max alt was at the time. 38 seems awful high for a flight that was planned to be at 320 at that time. Is the Bus still having issues with pitot icing/airspeed unreliable/etc? Might be a factor as well considering the amount of moisture in the area at the time.

Which is why I fly with the lights turned down. Even on a moonless night you'll be able to avoid the big stuff once your eyes adjust.

Another good technique is to move the seat all the way up and forward. Place your head on the dash and wrap your arms around your head. (Blocking all the light from the cockpit). Have your buddy fly. After a couple of minutes. You can see most of the weather in the darkness.

Not that I'm aware of.

Correct me if I am wrong. Unlike Boeing aircraft Airbus planes are continuously sending aircraft data back to MX, including approximate location. Unless there was deliberate sabotage, then this thing should be found.

While true for many foreign carriers, it is not true for Air Asia. They were hiring DECs for the A320 without time on type. One of the few airlines out there that would. Copa is another example.

I agree flying that high when your heavy is close to stall margin on both ends .... And sure we have all been bumped around at the tops of something unexpected which appeared to come out of no where .. Doing the island stuff from NY I have come across monsters we just couldn't see ...

Hope we find something out from this, even if it's catastrophic we can hopefully learn from it...

It's not an A v. B thing, it's what maintenance package you're on. Which comes down to how much the airline wants to spend.

They both have the capabilities, it just depends on what options the airline has.

MH370 hasn't been ruled deliberate sabotage and it still hasn't been found