QgsVectorLayerCache causes QGIS to crash when called within def run(self)

Question

This is in reference to the similar question regarding QgsVectorLayerCache . The original code is taken from here

I'm trying to implement this method within the def run(self) method.

 def run(self):

    new_dialog = QDialog()

    new_dialog.resize(270, 210)

    layer = iface.activeLayer()
    canvas = iface.mapCanvas()
    feature_list_view = QgsFeatureListView(new_dialog)

    vector_layer_cache = QgsVectorLayerCache(layer, 1000)

    # for layer in QgsMapLayerRegistry.instance().mapLayers().values():
    #     if layer.name() == 'Pins':
    #         # pins_layer = layer
    #         self.pinLayer = layer
    #         self.provider = self.pinLayer.dataProvider()

    attribute_table_model = QgsAttributeTableModel(vector_layer_cache)

    attribute_table_model.loadLayer()
    attribute_table_filter_model = QgsAttributeTableFilterModel(
        canvas,
        attribute_table_model
    )
    feature_list_model = QgsFeatureListModel(attribute_table_filter_model)
    feature_list_model.setDisplayExpression('"Pins"')
    feature_list_view_delegate = QgsFeatureListViewDelegate(feature_list_model)
    feature_list_view.setModel(feature_list_model)
    # feature_list_view.setItemDelegate(feature_list_view_delegate) # Crash if uncommented. TODO: fix issue

    new_dialog.show()

Debugging it with PyCharm has revealed that this line here causes QGIS to crash:

vector_layer_cache = QgsVectorLayerCache(layer, 1000)

How can I put this in a proper function without causing a crash? QgsVectorLayerCache should still be availabe in QGIS 2.18 according to the API docu