ORIGINAL: highhorse
3) A post-mortem has revealed that there was indeed a radio issue, specifically regarding uncommanded and asymmetric movement on the the flap channel.
i find it too much of a co-winky-dink that this radio failure revealed itself at the top of a loop, on a heavy aircraft, with the pilot yanking on the elevator. I'm sorry guys, everyone wants to believe they've had a radio failure of some kind but, this is clearly a high speed stall.
i have a SM hawk that behaves exactly the same way, these jets are tanks, they weigh 30 plus pounds and have a wing area less than a .60 size glow plane. Bad things happen when you pull on the elevator.
Mike