rubik101,
Why do you keep saying the "B" word? There is no evidence at all of that. There is, however, evidence of severe convective weather on the route. There is, however, evidence of the aircraft being rather High in Coffin Corner early in the flight (FL350 candidate for jet upset.) There is radar evidence of an enormous mature cell (and almost all, mature cells have associated lightening contained within them whether or not a lightning detector on a spacecraft or a weatherman in Atlanta can see it is unimportant.) All of us who have penetrated them can tell you they are full of lightening, St Elmos fire, extreme turbulence, massive up/down drafts, ice beyond normal design limits... etc, and when you exit a big one don't just punch out at a 90 degree angle or you might break the wings off. It is my humble opinion, as a guy who flew before wind shear was even a word, that you should exit at a 45 angle to the cell wall.
Naturally, don't penetrate and you won't ever have to make that choice. But riding around on autopilot all the time pushing buttons does nothing to sharpen your hand flying skills for a possible situation like this when you will need it the most. I am simply appalled by the autopilot-dependent culture in many flight departments.
Crunch