John R81 -- Very interesting, thank you. This puzzles me:
A Hunter test pilot confirmed that from the apex the pilot could have escaped by rolling the aircraft upright and had 4 seconds from the inverted apex to do this and avoid ground impact.
"The pilot was aware of escape manoeuvres for other military aircraft but had not practiced and had not been assessed on escape manoeuvres in the Hunter aircraft. This is extremely concerning - if he had practised this in the Hunter, it would have been fresh in his memory and he could have prevented this tragedy."
There doesn't seem to have been any attempt at an escape manoeuvre. Not even a botched one. If the pilot had been concerned and wished to escape even if he couldn't recall the procedure, with his experience he'd have given it his best shot.