From early on in this post Nick and I took the position that "Pilot Error" tells only a part of the story in this tragedy. This crew was experienced and was flying a well equipped aircraft in good weather at night over the ocean while in cruise. The report, without any other identifible cause points to the pilots.
That is improper in my book. If they cannot identify a cause then it remains unsolved in my view. They have not shown what the pilots did...or did not do that allowed the aircraft to impact the water.
The question that remains is simple..."What caused the aircraft to impact the water...what chain of events led to that happening?" Was there some failure of training or procedures that set the crew up for making a mistake that could have caused this?
Due to the lack of an operable CVR and no Data Recorder being installed, we will never know. The Pin the Tail on the Donkey game that gets played in these situations means the Pilots who are not here to defend themselves are going to be the Donkey unfortunately.
I wonder if ERA has had a third party review of its procedures and policies since that accident with a view towards confirming the adequacy of their training , check and procedures.
What makes this accident so strange is that it occurred in cruise over the ocean and not while on an ARA or takeoff. That is why an answer that correctly identifys the cause is so important.