Marco Chan
Role at the time: Senior lecturer in aviation operations at Kingston University and former airline pilot, quoted by CNN
Statement summary
Marco Chan, a senior lecturer in aviation operations at Kingston University, told CNN that "someone had to be pushing hard on the controls" during the descent of flight FZ1073, likely resulting in a physical "tug-of-war" because the plane's two flight control columns are mechanically linked. He added that "a body falling against a column can also produce large inputs." He said the rate and gradient of the descent suggest the aircraft "very likely" went beyond its maximum operating speed, and that investigators will likely examine the flight data recorder and cockpit voice recorder first to see each pilot's control inputs and what was said on the flight deck.
“someone had to be pushing hard on the controls”
CNN's live page, updated through the afternoon of September 30, 2026. This entry reports Chan's comments on what the descent suggests about control inputs and what investigators will examine. The linked archive copy was captured at 13:19 UTC, before this entry was added.
Archived copy (opens in a new tab)Why we used this label
The case asks whether a pilot deliberately tried to crash FZ1073. Chan said the descent indicates sustained pressure on the controls and likely a physical struggle over them, but he also said a body falling against a column can produce large inputs. He did not say any input was deliberate or that the pilot intended to crash the plane, and he pointed to the recorders for evidence on control inputs. We labeled it Mixed or conditional because the statement supports a struggle over the controls without deciding whether any input was deliberate.