The Opposite I Believe
I've noted an increasing amount of speculation that the aircraft might have hit the ocean in-tact. I think all the evidence we have points to the contrary.
I think an excellent example, in relation to mid-air break up, is the Air India Flight 182 in the mid 80's. Do a search on 'you tube' for Air India 182, and watch the documentaries relating to that incident.
Note the condition of the bodies found in that case: no clothes on the majority of bodies found; fractures to hips, shoulders and other joints (known a 'flail' injuries, resulting from violent tumbling through the air); and no sign of drowning (ie they were not breathing when they hit the water). Also note the conclusion that the pathologist and investigators drew based on those facts: "based on the injuries, we could only say the plane had broken up at 31,000ft". I think the similarities between the bodies found in this instance, and the Air India accident, are too common to be ingnored. It seems quite obvious, then, that the unfortunate people on AF447 suffered a similar fate to the passengers on the Air India jet. What remains to be answered is 'what caused it to break apart?'
The other interesting fact from the Air India case (which involved a 747) is the size of the debris field: 16 x 6km. Speculation that various elements of AF447 could be hundreds of miles apart seems unlikely in light of that fact.