Well...the WX at LIN was Cavok....and indeed the old man had a gear mulfunction because he told ATC.
Then ATC instructed the Pilot to fly west of LIN Apt in order to deal with the problem and , once solved (possibly) , to contact ATC again to be put back in the flow to land.
Most probably The little Aero Commander didn't have an Autopilot, and while dealing with the handle to crank the landing gear down, the poor chap didn't look OUT and got space-disoriented.
Some ground witnesses say there was some smoke coming out the plane before crashing.
Therefore it was just an accident.
