Arslanian also reportedly said that they would do their best to find the causes without the aid of the recorders.
After catching up reading several new pages here I resisted the urge to hit the reply button to several posts until I read everything. So now only a single reply.
When we talk about large transport aircraft there is no sense in asking or intimating that one design is stronger than the other in turbulence. They are essentially the same. The critical structures are designed to limit loads and less critical stuff is expected to fail first.
So the finding and identification of bits of debris along a path would give a hint of the relative breakup and shedding of parts which in turn may indicated the differences between fire, explosions, upset etc.
Not necessarily a postive conclusion but at least a pointer along with the already commented ACARS.
And perhaps already covered, the pingers on the recorders are distance related from the sonar. So when you consider the possibilities as a three dimensional box including the depth along the debris field in miles, it truly is a needle in a haystack.