On the fringes of CRM, one ludicrous Dutch ‘regulation’ that was changed after the accident was the penalty for exceeding crew duty hours. By Dutch law it was a
criminal offence!
Captain Van Zanten was already on his limits and would have had this in mind at the time.
Who’s to say that this wasn’t the single biggest hole in the cheese. Had the threat of a criminal record not been there would he have been more relaxed; would he …….. and on, and on.
Point is. Those responsible for effective CRM are not confined to the cockpit.