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There was mechanical failure with the plane, but it will likely be ruled as both mechanical failure & pilot error.
One of the elevator trim tabs broke off the plane and the pilot had to decide to either pull out of the race or try to continue and it appears he tried to continue. Added to this the aircraft had been greatly modified before this years race which likely compounded the issue once the trim tab broke off.
They had narrowed the wings 5ft on each side plus reduced the control surface size to make the aircraft more aerodynamic and faster but also would make it less stable in the air. This was the first race the aircraft had been in since those modifications.
Once he made the commitment to the turn he was no longer able to control the aircraft and he hit 9g+ which means he was blacked out from the time the aircraft went up rolled and went into the ground.
Added to that a pilot at the age of 74 should have never been flying in that kind of event due to the stress that is on the body, regardless of what shape he was in or how much people claim his age meant nothing.
The cause of the accident was in the pilots hands, despite the mechanical failure as he committed to continue the race even though he certainly knew something had happened to the aircraft. It would have been like a F-1 driver losing a wheel and trying to continue the race at full speed.
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