Don't blame the vac pump. They took off in to non VFR conditions without the neccesary training and qualifications to cope with the problems that could arise.
Hmmm. Whilst doubtless we can all agree that the pilot exhibited an unwise, cavalier attitude to flying, it certainly doesn't follow that this was the cause of the accident. Just as likely their luck ran out, which could equally have happened had the pilot not been in breach of any regulations.
In my flying lifetime, there have been numerous fatalities following instrument failure in IMC. Whilst in no way suggesting that training, qualifications and being below the legal alcohol limit are unimportant, what is absolutely certain is that they are not sufficient to guarantee a survivable outcome from the type and timing of mechanical failure experienced on this fateful flight.
Two prominent examples (from many) come to mind:
1) The Knight Air Bandeirante that lost one or possibly both artificial horizons two minutes after take-off from Leeds/Bradford (May 1995), and crashed killing all twelve occupants.
Two highly trained, qualified and current professional pilots.
2) The Beech Bonanza that had a gyro failure one and half minutes after take off from Linden, New Jersey (November 1999), and crashed a mile from downtown Newark killing all three occupants and injuring twenty five people on the ground.
An ATPL pilot with >4,000 hours, flying 200-300 hours p.a. on type and regular acting as instrument instructor in the highly-acclaimed Bonanza Pilot Proficiency Program.
As gasax says:
Picking up on the perpherial aspects of the accident makes for a great deal of self rightousness but very much misses the point
I have a suspicion that the real 'survival' message from this tragic accident is rather different from the one most posters are focusing on.