Originally Posted by
AerialPerspective
Captain Collins was known by all to be someone who was almost fanatical about preparation for every flight.
......... which is utterly irrelevant. Mahon made a big deal of this, arguing that Collins was simply too amazing a pilot to be ABLE to make the basic errors of airmanship that were being alleged. Well, history is full of amazing pilots who committed catastrophic errors. Jacob van Zanten wasn't renowned for taking off without clearance until he did so at Tenerife.
None of what went before matters. Doesn't matter how respected he was by his flight attendants, whether he used to be fanatical about his kids life jackets, whether he looked dashing in his pilot's uniform. All that matter is what he actually DID on that day. Was he capable of making simple errors? Absolutely. We all are.