Originally Posted by
Machinbird
Bubbers, the wreckage, even if badly fragmented, can tell you a lot.
+1 (along with the rest of your post)
Aviation accident investigation agencies don't have specialists in (among other things) physics, metallurgy and electronics on the payroll simply to make headcount!
The famous investigation into the DH.106 Comet was done with no flight recorder evidence, and even the famous water tank test eventually served only to confirm the theory that the "tin-kickers" who assessed and reconstructed the accident sequence from partial wreckage had already figured out.