The event horizon is merely the point at which light can not escape (and therefore nothing else since energy is the fastest known force in existence) and is simply sucked into the black hole. There are still huge forces (gravity of the black hole) outside the event horizon, which can still effect anything from radio waves to spacecraft (that is why light is bent by the black hole). In relation to your second question, there is no escape from the black hole once you have passed the event horizon. To make it simpler, imagine you are on the edge of a sinkhole. The crossing the event horizon would mean you "jumped" into the sinkhole (without any means of flying back up).