This really gives me the s*^#s. Porch Monkey is absolutely correct the aircraft should NEVER have departed. Those of you with experience, know that pilots often have their own procedures for getting into places in bad wx. They include stupid practises like flying DOWN the missed approach path of an NPA and let downs over radio station aerials with home drawn plates, and canyon flying in low cloud and minimum viz. They run the gauntlet and continue this practise until they either get a really big fright or kill themselves.
In the case in question the pilot diverted from FP track to enter into a snow blizzard in an aircraft not equipped for such, to a destination which was REPORTED by an approved met observer, to be way way below minimums.The flight had NO chance of reaching its destination in the prevailing conditions. IMHO it was a flight that should never have been, and it culminated in the death of innocent people. IF and I repeat IF an engine stopped it may well have been due to ice/snow induction blockages. There is no excuse for stupidity.