Well, Ric, I'm sure you'll be just ecstatic to hear my loopy theory:
NR16020 lands on the reef, parks pointing North.
The sun heats the interior of the plane above 130oF.
Eyeing the weakest piece of the fuselage, Fred kicks out the panel covering the window opening, basically in order to create a cross draft inside the rear of the fuselage through the open main doorway (the prevailing wind being from the East, or Starboard side of the aircraft).
For once we agree. My loopy theory is pretty much the same as yours - that the damage we see on the artifact was caused by AE and/or FN. My thought was that the other means of egress (cockpit hatch and cabin door) might have somehow become unusable and they knocked out the patch to escape the aircraft, but I like your ventilation motivation better. It's simpler. Doesn't much matter which way the airplane is facing. During the day the interior of the airplane would be unbearably hot, 130° is certainly within the realm of possibility.
There are dents, scratches, and a cut on the interior surface of the artifact that show up under low angle lighting. Were they made by AE and/or FN?
The metal piece falls onto the reef and is taken in by the tide, while the remainder of the aircraft eventually gets swept off the reef into the abyss.
Leaving the Bevington Object behind. Which explains why we only have this one piece of skin, but what of all the anecdotal accounts of wreckage seen on the reef edge, and a control cable being used as a fishing leader, and the piece of plexi we found that matches the standard cabin window? The airplane's fate may have been more complex than simply "into the abyss." Perhaps the aircraft partially broke in the surf. Pieces of wreckage remained in shallow water for several years until being washed up, salvaged and used by the locals. 2-2-V-1 never went over the edge and therefore traveled a different path to where we found it.
Maybe it's a loopy theory. Maybe not. But first we have to determine, if we can, whether all the dimensions fit and whether the rivet patterns match.