Quick ? about Air France flight 447...?

Reports are varied on this. It appears that a cross between air speed, weather and turbulence (from the weather) is the likely culprit at this time. They are still way too early in the process to rule out other factors, but these appear to be the most likely. If this scenario occurred, the plane was probably struck by lightning and lost some of it's power. This could easily cause the autopilot to disengage (automated message that was sent to air traffic control) and either damage the radio (no mayday) or make it so the pilots were unable to communicate through the storm. The air speed going into major turbulence would be a key. Imagine riding a bike on a street where someone was using a jackhammer. If you approached slowly, you would be able to compensate as the pounding became intense. Now imagine riding down the street quickly and the jackhammer starting when you were right next to it. This would allow for no compensation and would probably make you lose your balance. A plane traveling at a higher rate of speed that hits extreme turbulence could "break-up". This, of course, is only an explanation of how turbulence "could" have caused the crash. I am guessing it will be several weeks before we know what actually happened.