Are you sure that 'any other professional pilots' would have been flying through that weather, and not around it?
Is it an established fact or only an assumption that the AF
pilots were 'flying through that weather'?
After reading numerous posts by extremely knowledgeable
pilots, meteorologists, engineers, mechanics, and assorted other
professionals, it appears as if it's not been proven that the AF pilots
did not deviate around the worst of the WX.
Many attest that they may have deviated, and communications
to that effect may have been affected by WX, etc. So received
communications or lack thereof aren't evidence that they were flying through that weather.
Also, knowledgeable sources report that, whether they did or
did not deviate, decision making about this may have been
affected by inadequate WX information, including radar, and by the
fact that newly developing convective forces can form and rise rapidly
from the ocean surface and be nearly indetectable.