In 1976, with Teng Hsiao Ping's rise to power, he was reinstated but his father's name was never cleared and those who slandered him were promoted.
一九七六年，鄧小平上台後，為收攬民心，平反許多冤獄。孫天勤父親的罪名，也在此時平反，他又恢復飛行。「但這只是在做表面功夫，實際上逼死我父親那些人，不但沒有受到懲處，而且還被提拔重用。」