What can the surviving evidence say about Akron's last descent?

The documented sequence of Akron's loss can be separated from hypotheses about the forces that produced it. Rapid pressure changes, a condensate or ballast system that may not have worked as intended, downdrafts and updrafts, and a possible passage through the storm's most violent band could explain the abrupt reversals. These ideas remain tentative because only three crewmen survived and the executive officer spent significant time unconscious after rescue. The status of the life jackets is also uncertain: they may have been absent, stowed, or impossible to issue before impact. Fragmentary testimony supports several plausible mechanisms without settling which one caused the loss.