“I think what happened was the plane flew into some extreme turbulence from the thunderstorms over the Java Sea (common at this time of the year) and somehow, the plane lost control and crashed.”
I’m betting the composite tail assembly broke off, with the expected results.
I’ve never been a fan of Airbus, especially in turbulence, etc.
Ever since the tail fell off that plane over Queens, following the 9/11 disaster I try to avoid anything Airbus.
If it ain’t Boeing, I ain’t going!,
It took the disintegration of three de Havilland DH 106 Comet airliner flights before the causes were discovered, understood, and acknowledged:
The de Havilland DH 106 Comet was the first production commercial jetliner.[N 2] Developed and manufactured by de Havilland at its Hatfield Aerodrome, Hertfordshire, United Kingdom headquarters, the Comet 1 prototype first flew on 27 July 1949. It featured an aerodynamically clean design with four de Havilland Ghost turbojet engines buried in the wings, a pressurised fuselage, and large square windows. For the era, it offered a relatively quiet, comfortable passenger cabin and showed signs of being a commercial success at its 1952 debut.
A year after entering commercial service the Comets began suffering problems, with three of them breaking up during mid-flight in well-publicised accidents. This was later found to be due to catastrophic metal fatigue in the airframes, not well understood at the time. The Comet was withdrawn from service and extensively tested to discover the cause; the first incident had been incorrectly blamed on adverse weather. Design flaws, including dangerous stresses at the corners of the square windows and installation methodology, were ultimately identified.
Wikipedia
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/De_Havilland_Comet
Another fatal crash was narrowly averted, but the causes were never really proven. The flight crew were not believed when they insisted the problem was with the aircraft components and not their handling of the aircraft:
Air Crash Investigation The Plane That Fell From The Sky Full Version TWA 841
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C_hk483IsaQ
So, this latest missing commercial airline flight is currently a possible incident of aircraft malfunction, pilot error, weather mishap, and/or terrorist act. It remains to be seen if and when any evidence can be obtained to distinguish between these possible causes.