There was a tailwind, which isn't ideal but wind is relative once you are airborne. It doesn't throw a plane around quite like when a gust hits your vehicle on the highway. The 18 has a high enough thrust to weight ratio that it can power through gusts. I guess it's possible that he had a surge from a gust up the tailpipe but the engine doesn't sound like it. At the end of the high alpha pass the pilot throttles up and accelerates vertical, that could also contribute to a surge.
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