From the beginning, I was very suspicious of why things happened quickly it seems as soon as the flaps were deployed to their initial approach configuration.
It was reported that the aircraft went in to an immediate reversal of direction and then crashed.
Wouldn't this kind of thing (bleed off roll) happen if say one wing had flaps deployed but the other did not? Might this happen if a gear was stuck on one flap? say with icing or some other reason? Also woudn't this account for a pitch up, roll and quick bleed off of airspeed too?,
Does anyone know whether this airplane has two flap motors or. one? ( I have 50 plus years of pilot-flying experience in general aviation aircraft, but by no means am I an aviation expert.)
I don't know. But, I think it would be premature to discount almost anything at this point including a catastrophic mechanical or hydraulic problem. Although, I agree with earlier poster that it is looking more like pilot error.
I was on a Delta Airlines 757 several years ago when, at cruising altitude, the speed brake on the port side deployed for no apparent reason. The plane rolled in a split second to almost a 90 degree bank. The pilot recovered quickly (I'm assuming by disengaging the auto-pilot) and we made an emergency, but otherwise uneventful landing - with the port-side speed brake fully extended the entire time.
My point is, at the Buffalo plane's altitude, almost any mechanical or hydraulic problem would give the operator virtually no time to correct it. PS - I'm a pilot too, just single engine.
The flight data recorder would have picked up the asymmetry. I imagine they would have been able to determine that forensically from the wrekage as well.