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In the case of sudden decompression, the loss of oxygen would almost certainly be the cause of death. What's interesting though, is that some of the passengers were alive at the time of the crash, which if the plane was flying out of control for 45 minutes prior shouldn't be possible. I'm suspecting that rather than a loss of pressure, the environmental controls failed, causing a drop in temperature inside the aircraft. Or possibly the A/C system leaked coolant into the cabin? In the event of a complete HVAC failure, those inside the aircraft would be at the mercy of outside temperatures, but the pilot should have realized what was going on in that case and dropped down to a lower altitude to compensate, prior to an emergency landing.
Also, the crew apparently tried to control the plane but was unsuccessful, which makes me think there was something else going on. As someone who has actually flown a plane before I will say that it's relatively easy to fly; it's the takeoffs and landings that are difficult. So the question is, why the loss of control? Perhaps a simultaneous failure of the hydraulics system?
I guess the FDR will shed some insight into this, at least for the Boeing techs. The VCR is really the less important of the two in a situation like this, where it seems mechanical failure is likely.
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I wake up in the morning more tired than before I slept
I get through cryin' and I'm sadder than before I wept
I get through thinkin' now, and the thoughts have left my head
I get through speakin' and I can't remember, not a word that I said
- Ben Harper, Show Me A Little Shame
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