PEGASUS says:"Of course the somatogravic effect was a factor in the incident... Setting GA-power, having a high pitch up attitude, being confused, retracting the gear... If you don't know where you are or what you are doing, you will act primitive, which is as a pilot to push on the stick if your pants make you feel that the nose is going up. I would not underestimate the effects of such illusions, even for the more experienced professional pilot"
Pegasus, I can put you into a Cessna with blindfolds and maneuver the airplane in such a way that you would tell me that the airplane is climbing when in fact the airplane is in a steep nose down spiral. It's covered in basic instument course 101.
This near fatal incident is not a myth. It's easily explained: These 757 pilots in IMC had interrupted their instrument scan, and the PF had instinctively reacted to sensory illusions and overcontrolled his airplane from 40 degrees nose up to 49 degrees nose down. He should have known better not to pull and push on the yoke by the seat of his pants. In IMC the PF must stay glued to his instruments. It's a total concentration effort, and a strong belief in your instruments. End of story.