[Balding_Eagle]

The following is tongue-in-cheek;

did not the pilot radio in right before the crash about technical difficulties?

Could it be that he was having trouble getting the plane to Mach 2 in order to outrun the missile?

[John Valentine]

did not the pilot radio in right before the crash about technical difficulties?

Apparently this never happened. As usual there are a lot of rumors and errors in statements made too soon after an air disaster.