Quote:
Originally Posted by Snuffleupagus
He lost his engine, in 1 second the other aircraft was so far ahead it would be impossible to hit it.
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It’s not that simple. Capt. MacDougall had seconds to make a decision in an extremely dire situation that would have handcuffed most. He clearly did his best.
It appears the aircraft lost power shortly after departure, pilot made a decision to pull up and convert what energy he had into altitude in hopes of either making it back to the airport or to a point where he could safely level off, place the aircraft where it would not impact anyone on the ground and punch out. He hung on as long as he could hoping for a better outcome, the aircraft was recovered from an incipient spin prior to ejection which supports that theory. This is all my speculative opinion of course.