Some here may well think that I and a few others come up with “incredibly imaginative possible causes” and believe in the statistic “pilot error accidents still outnumber other accidents 4:1” . I take no offence that I have an active imagination - honed from many years of wondering, knowing and occasionally experiencing, what can go wrong will go wrong.
But consider that most accidents result from more than one cause - often a combination of equipment, environmemt and the human. Old aircraft, primitive instrumentation, poor performance, mountainous terrain, bad weather, non existent instrument approach (and possibly no aircraft capability to do it anyway). Even if the tail did not fall off or the elevator cable did not break, or an engine was not down on power, this may not be simple CFIT.
CFIT implies it is all the pilot’s fault. All avenues including structure and maintenance history and instrument serviceability must be investigated. We owe that much to this unfortunate pilot and those who will grieve for her.
So here is another statistic ( I saw it on TV so it must be right): Of all occupations, that of aircraft pilot is the 3rd (or may have been 4th) most dangerous. Note “occupation” so the implication is that weekend warrior PPLs are not included. Now, we all know that airline flying is the safest mode of transport, so take out airline pilots from the data and we have GA as a very hazardous undertaking indeed. Up there with firefighting and bomb disposal.