Seems to be a sad event indeed.
Haven't read all the posts but trying to out climb a thunderstorm for e.g., is foolish in the extreme due to reduced G protection/coffin corner, as stated in earlier posts. Contemplating doing so is a sure sign of inexperience and or poor training. We must not forget, that a sudden ascending air mass (parcel of air) would be a lot warmer than ambient, making the safety margins even narrower still, for a given altitude. "Optimum altitude" may even be too great for adequate G protection in these conditions. Aircraft are very strong and will most likely hold together provided an attitude is maintained and the A/S is keep within the margins required in an extreme situation. Therefore a lower altitude is more preferable, as a stall/departure will have a very high chance of resulting in in flight break up or non recovery.
After MH370 was lost a certain airline boasted in their in-flight reading material "we don't lose aircraft" or words to that effect. Even more dangerous.
Last edited by Sop_Monkey; 29th Dec 2014 at 00:56.