Speculation
JE
Don't really see that asking a simple question about the capabilities of an apparently aged FDR is being speculative.... particularly not on a non-condolences thread.
I've been, as a pilot, to two wars matey and seens lots of death. I tend not to get all tied up in knots over asking why people die in non-combat related scenarios. But that's not what I've done above. Just asked a simple question. I couldn't care less about the entreaties in Navy or Air Force press releases or the annoying continuous squawks by the pontificaters here about "not speculating".
I've been a Flight Safety Officer and investigated accidents. I have a strongly developed sense of inquiry that contrasts with the ostrich-like head-in-sand: "Let's wait" brigade. Discussion about technical and flight-safety aspects of accidents is healthy. I'm sure that there are many young and not so young "once were tyros" that wouldn't be around now but for some of the collective wisdom they've gleaned by reading Pprune.
Reminds me of when GF072 went down and I suggested, as soon as the scenario was out, that it was the "pitch-up illusion". I had all sorts of people totally perplexed, including Chief pilots who'd never heard of it. Guess what it turned out to be?
So there is virtue in asking questions - although I agree that there's also an indefinable line between that and uninformed speculation.