Just a few days ago I read that John Denver was trying to switch fuel tanks which apparently caused the same rudder / roll-over / fatal crash problem. The switch was located in a difficult-to-reach place over the shoulder.
In Denver's case, the problem was that the builder had moved the fuel selector from between the pilots legs, as Burt Rutan designed, to a location in the wing root. As a result, this required a complicated and difficult to operate linkage.
The new location for the fuel selector switch was above and behind the pilot's shoulders, as you note.
This was bad enough, but Denver also failed to verify how much fuel was on-board before taking off on the fatal flight. (a cardinal sin)
When the airplane ran out of gas, he tried to reach over his shoulder in an attempt to switch tanks and stepped on the rudder pedal in the process which caused the airplane to go out of control, as you also noted.
Lost in all of this was that Denver had been previously convicted of DUI, which prompted the FAA to order him to surrender his airman certificate. (pilot's license) This is standard practice and is usually the main reason why most pilots lose their license. They may lose their medical certificate due to failing health, but once issued, the airman certificate is usually kept for life.
Naturally, like most celebrities, Denver thought himself above the law and neither surrendered his license, nor stopped flying.
Had he complied with the FAA and the law, he would probably still be alive today.
Don’t know as I’d put the ilk of Denver in the same class as an USAF pilot ! Recall he was flying sans a valid medical, (i.e. his “license” was void), it was also under suspension as I recall. >PS