jientho --
Do the math. Downdraft of 250+ mph?? I mean I'm the one speculating about unprecedented tropical weather phenomena, but that is beyond even my ability to conjecture.
Up/downdrafts of similar speeds would be extreme but not beyond the realms of possibility. We've measured updrafts of around 195kts and were only prevented from measuring higher values by equipment limitations. Those were over the Atlantic but I suspect the region where this aircraft went down would see similar.