Originally Posted by
DogTailRed2
Assuming this was caused by a drone entering the engine and as there was no large bang, so the drone didn't have a warhead, presumably the drone would cause that engine to start shedding bits. So it's likely there was a lot more damaged, controls, wires, hydraulics etc that would have contributed to the crash. We also don't know the experience or competence of the crew. There is a war on and they are loosing crews at a rate of nots. So possibly an inexperienced crew facing a major complex failure in a large, complex and seriously damaged aircraft. There's also the fog of war aspect. They may have assumed they were hit by a missile and more damaged than they actually were. Everything coming together in a perfect storm to bring the aircraft down.
Where does this assumption come from ?
From the videos, the fire was eventually extinguished, engine 4 subsequently departed the airframe, engine 3 appeared to be compromised as well.
Finally, the aircraft rolls towards the failed / missing / compromised power-plants.
Possible explanations ? a straightforward Vmca departure, structural failure of the SBD wing, or perhaps some flap / slat asymmetry on deployment or as an aggravating factor