Very Good, you picked the word that aroused my curiosity. And I must say a very eloquent reply. I have been out to pasture now for 15 years, still like to get involved in this discussion, especially when our esteemed prime minister makes statements on subjects she has no experience to comment on.
If she wants to quote judges why does she not quote Judge Harold Greene of the U.S. District Court in Washington when NZALPA tried to blame the controllers at McMurdo for a share in the disaster. I quote
"It is clearly established that, when the pilot told Mac Centre he wished to descend VMC, he effectively informed the controllers that he could see where he was going. In so doing he took sole responsibility for separating the airplane from other aircraft and the terrain and he was on his own"
"Judge Greene said the operational crew of flight TE901 acted unreasonably in several respects, including not plotting their actual position from the AINS and descending below 16,000ft, contrary to both prudent airmanship and Air New Zealand policy without first ascertaining what was there or following the other requirements for such descent. The crew also missed the obvious landmark of Beaufort Island being on the wrong side of the flight path and pressed on in the face of deteriorating weather, with five or six extra people in the cockpit causing some distraction during the critical period."