Gust lock...keeps elevators from moving or something... 8) 8)

Cripes, that was awful... wish I hadn't looked.
The Caribou is a venerable old STOL plane; not being an expert, I'd guess runaway trim...
Forgetting to remove the gust lock usually results in an inability to pitch up (the ones i've seen set the elevator at a more or less neutral angle), so I don't think it was that.
  It looks like no attempt was made to pitch down and recover, or perhaps it was fitted with electric trim which "ran away" (continued dialing in 'up-trim')  and they didn't think to pull the breaker... so despite all their pushing, they couldn't get the nose down. Seems like they did eventually reduce power a little, but it's hard to tell. I think with all that runway ahead, chopping the throttle right away would've been a damn good idea, if one were to think of it.
Might've even been a case of elevator rigging being done backwards after maintenance (I think that plane has mechanical backup as well as hyraulics)... if so, that points out the importance of the pre-takeoff checklist "free and correct" item...
 

The following quote was taken from the accident investigation performed by the Transportation Safety Board of Canada.

“The accident occurred in August 1992 at the Gimli Industrial Park in Manitoba famous site in Canadian aviation history, where an Air Canada Boeing 767 known as the Gimli Glider was dead-sticked onto a drag racing strip, following fuel exhaustion.

The accident aircraft is a highly modified de Havilland aircraft. In this case a Caribou had been converted to turbine power and was operated under the EXPERIMENTAL category of CAR 4b.
The conversion was accomplished at Gimli, and the aircraft first flew in mid-November 1991, before accumulating about 23 hours on 12 flights by month end. These preliminary tests revealed the need for the replacement of the aircraft’s mechanical vacuum pumps with a Bendix suction system, the addition of in-line fuel boost pumps and the installation of a newly designed hydraulic pump.
The accident occurred on August 27, 1992 on the first of several planned trips to flight check the fuel and hydraulic systems. The aircraft had been hangared in a partially disassembled state over the winter, and had only recently been re-assembled, including the re-installation of the complete tail section.

The accident investigation used this video and some 35mm photographs as a key resource in determining what went wrong at Gimli. With the exception of a slightly higher-than-normal nose attitude at lift-off, the aircraft’s initial climb appeared normal. At about 35 feet AGL, the aircraft made a noticeable pitch up movement.

When I tell you that the photography revealed that the elevator control surfaces were observed to pitch trailing-edge-up for rotation, neutralize and then remain in the neutral position through the balance of that short flight, I expect most of you will come to the same conclusion as the Transportation Safety Board of Canada. The aircraft’s control gust locks were at least partly engaged.”

The full and detailed report is available here

http://www.asasi.org/papers/2001/Four%20Unrelated%20Accidents.pdf

It is several pages long and covers several accidents, refer to page 6, 7 & 8.

not knowing for sure was bugging the hell out of me 

I wish they didn't post videos of death on that site. No-one could survive that.

Didn't think that of course such a plane might have integral gust locks... what I can't figure is how it didn't occur to the pilot that they might be engaged. Maybe they wouldn't disengage or something.
Still surprised it went up and over like that with neutral elevator, but it's a plane designed for excellent short-field performance, and I guess the engine conversion added some power that helped this disaster unfold.
I agree with those who say no way anyone could have survived... not the way it hit and burned right away. Awful. 

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Even if that is the case I don't see how anyone would have survived the impact.

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I don't like speculating but as this happened in 1992 I see no harm. From reading the report from RitterKruez's link I have my own theory. The Buffalo/Caribou has a remarkable STOL performance & a steep climb after take-off is normal procedure. Having watched them take off many times I see nothing unusual in the first part of that video. If the gust locks were not properly disengaged (or accidentally engaged during take-off) the elevators would have locked when the controls were returned past the neutral position during the climb out. Quote:
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This seems the most logical explanation to me.