One odd thing I noticed, that would question the whole tail wind scenario:
The stabilator is still in a fairly level setting, which would suggest high airspeed (at least 50 kts, if I remember correctly). So unless they had a stabilator failure or elected to disable the auto mode, they had to be going very fast for ship ops. Then again, there is barely enough time to ascertain the actual stabilator position prior to destruction.
I don't mean to create tread drift, but I think someone is confusing "settling with power" with "power settling." Power settling is the one having to do with performance limitations, while settling with power is just another way of describing Vortex Ring State.