Originally Posted by
finestkind
Really do not understand your comment on "way to low energy to have got airborne". By all appearance it was airborne and in formation when a power loss occurred. As far as zoom climb after takeoff, no aircraft has that potential as your takeoff spped is below glide speed let alone having zoom potential until some seconds after takeoff, unless in afterburner and holding it down whereby you have accelerated very quickly.
Perhaps English is not your first language. I was attempting to discuss how the aircraft ended up in the position it started from. This was BEFORE information was available as to the nature of the take off. There were therefore a couple of possibilities:
Firstly, the aircraft had departed earlier and then joined up to fly through as a formation.
Secondly, that they had just become airbourne as part of a formation take off.
What I ACTUALLY said was "To my eye the aircraft looked way too low energy to have got airbourne then
joined up to fly through. Had that been the case then a zoom climb to force landing or at least a higher ejection would probably have ensued."
So I was essentially implying that it was most likely to have been a formation take off!
I am well aware of the performace capabilities of military aircraft!