[Ron C.]

'trim tab' - yes, part of the elevator system. What gets me is that the elevators appear frozen at mid point. The fact that that piece trails behind may have created enough force that he could not pull the plane out of the dive... BUT, that he was able to pull the plane into a steep climb to begin the maneuver to avoid hitting the stands contradicts that thought.

Perhaps forward speed was simply not enough after that climb to push the tail down to avoid the crash. So sad...

[Smokin' Joe]

The fact that that piece trails behind may have created enough force that he could not pull the plane out of the dive... BUT, that he was able to pull the plane into a steep climb to begin the maneuver to avoid hitting the stands contradicts that thought.

Another poster commented that an expert pilot should be able to compensate, and I think the last second maneuver which kept him out of the stands was that compensation. It takes a moment to realize the plane is not responding to control as it should, and he had very little time to try to correct his flight path.

I do not consider myself an expert on aviation by any standard, but the additional drag by the trailing trim tab on the elevator and the loss of effective control surface may have thwarted his efforts to get the plane up.