Pitot malfunction cause vs effect
It seems most observers are following the pitot malfunction as a precursor to other events (including AB/AF amongst others suggesting a change pitot remedy).
Some posts back (or is it in the closed thread?) there was an erudite suggestion that a spiralling aircraft would give rise to erroneous readings from the pitots. That post suggested VS separation or some other catastrophic event as higher in the event chain.
I have not seen an argument supporting or contradicting that post. Most have followed the 'pitot first' event chain.