Sterile Cockpit?
There is one other topic that I don't think is receiving enough attention.
If the reports are true that Cline's daughter had alcohol poisoning that was serious enough to medivac, it very much could have been a life and death situation. The fact that so many people were on the plane leads me to believe that it could have very well been a panic situation. I find it hard to believe that the passengers were patiently, quietly sitting in the passenger compartment. I could easily immagine screaming, crying, and outright chaos.
Black Hole liftoft, short flight preparation, billionaire owner onboard, chaos in the passenger compartment. I am not sure that any of us pilots could reliably pull that off, or should even try. However, if it truly was a life and death situation, I am not sure as a pilot how you say no.....