Final radio transmission between Columbia and Mission Control:At this point, my money's on a burn-through.Mission Control: 'Columbia, Houston we see your tire pressure messages and we did not copy your last.'
Columbia: 'Roger, uh, ...' (transmission breaks off after the crew member starts to stay a word beginning with the sound 'buh.')
Possibly, time will tell. Don't forget that an improper angle of attack on atmospheric reentry could cause environmental conditions to exceed the design limits on the Thermal Protection System. I can't imagine the circumstances that would cause the software to issue improper instructions to the Reaction Control System. That software may be the most tested stack on the face of the planet. Brookhaven did a truly remarkable job with it. It almost certainly has to be a hardware failure of some flavor.