qsaark
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I know the difference between T-37 and T-33, and understand the struggle was over flight controls. However, no one knows for sure what exactly had happened. It is understood that at the time of the takeoff, Rashid was un-conscious, whether under the influence of some chemical substance such as chloroform, or he was hit by some hard object. In the mid-flight, he regained consciousness but it appears that his attention was on re-gaining the flight controls rather than ejecting. No one knows for sure how much aware he was of the situations or how much capable of doing he was due to the injuries he sustained. As I said, ATC has no audio recordings (at least I don’t know about) of what it was informed by Rashid, and what instructions were given to Rashid by the ATC to bring the situation under control. Rashid did what any professional would have done in his place and in that situation, to regain the control of his aircraft and bring it back home. That struggle of his to regain the controls of his plane is sufficient to make him into a heroic figure, and there is no need to add spice of ‘he deliberately crashed his airplane’ as it raises more questions about his judgment and situational awareness.Unlike say a T-37, the seating in a T-33 aren't tandem hence the struggle would have been over the controls rather than hand to hand.
I have spoken to some guys who matter, they were of the opinion that during the flight, Rashid Minhas could have easily ejected to safety as he always remained over Pakistani territory, and with the canopy gone, the vulnerable T-33 in all likely hood wouldn't have been unable to cope with slipstream and would have gone down, but there was also an outside chance of it maintaining it's flight course and the abducting pilot succeeding. The rest is history