Firstly, I am not one to speculate, hence rarely post on this forum. However I do find the continous "Manual vs Auto" "Boeing vs Airbus" argument somewhat tedious. No aircraft is perfect, they all require the crew to be trained thoroughly and to know the procedures to be carried out should failures occur.
Of course, as I fly the 'bus I do feel somewhat defensive, but not to the extent of thinking one fundamentally safer than the other (give me Normal Law anyday
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An airbus can be flown manually either in Normal Law, or if things go wrong, Alternate and then Direct. They all offer some protections, Normal Law giving you the ability to pull back full stick and bank fully without fear of losing control. A fabulous attribute, surely.
Now on the subject of Unreliable Air Data, if that should happen to be a factor here, no aircraft can cope with it. It is up to the pilots to notice the problem and then carry out Memory Drills for datum pitch and power settings.
I did this just the other day in the sim as it happens as part of my recurrent check. Very odd and disturbing to see conflicting readouts on PFDs, but once you have noticed a discrepancy, you are halfway there to staying safe.
Whatever the cause of the crash, it is a great loss for the families and friends involved. Let's all wait for the official results.