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As a non-native English speaker, it's perhaps risky to join the conversation but as a private pilot myself, perhaps I should. Ever since I got my license almost 20 years ago, I've been reading accident reports, especially on general aviation under VFR conditions. In many cases human error turns out to be the cause of accidents or incidents, not technical reasons, despite the fact that many of the GA planes we fly in are Pipers or Cessnas of say 40 years old. Not as old as war birds, but still, airplanes of considerable age.
Pilot age can be a factor (although I know GA pilots who are well in their seventies and who still pass medical checks and are exemplary if it comes to flight preparation), experience (instructors always say that experience can be a death trap due to complacency, as younger pilots tend to do things more by the book), tunnel vision (too much focused on one specific circumstance or actions), loss of situational awareness, in fact everything that has been described in this thread as potential cause of the accident is possible, but it will be very likely that none of these individual possible causes is solely responsible.
I always have to think about the Tenerife disaster in March 1977. None of the individual links of the chain caused the accident, but all linked together they became a chain from which at some point in time no escape was possible anymore. No more maneuvering space as to say. Accident inevitable. In the end the action of one of the pilots was decisive (and for this the KLM captain got the blame) but in the total picture many more people contributed to the eventual disaster.
It's all speculation at this point and that's why the work of the NTSB or any similar organization in other countries, is so very important. To learn from it and to try as a pilot to prevent yourself from finding yourself in a similar situation at some point in time, or as organization to prevent such horrible accidents from happening again. Looking at it from this perspective, it doesn't matter who was at fault or responsible. It doesn't turn back time or the loss of lives.
My deepest respect for the people who keep on flying those legendary airplanes, organize events to make this possible and to the many more who ensure these aircraft are kept airworthy. Learning from what happened is the perhaps the best way to honor the pilots who lost their lives in this tragic accident.
Erik
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