others have said they have no intention of reading this whole thread - I have - and I am reluctant as always to post but I am irritated by the polarised positions people are taking.
it seems to me there are two aspects to this
a) the rather simplistic arguments of who was P1
b) the broader non aviation society concept of 'duty of care'
Aviators particularly private aviators and definitely regularposters on forums are very quick to trot out the ANO and take the position that DW was P1 therfore responsible.
It is difficult to argue against the simple rule that DW was P1 therefore totally responsible - more difficult to prove that he was or knew he was P1
Bose X - I would hate to take instruction from you as you are so black and white certain. Because you are so black and white certain you just can't comprehend how someone can come under a decision making influence from a sky god - not good for an instructor if I may say.
Life is not like that - several posters have said that they recognise when they were on the learning curve (surely we are always on it) that you can be persuaded to defer to more experience (espcially, I suggest, if they were a 'black and white assertive instructor!)
After one hours flying I had a senior instructor ridicule me for turning up for a lesson in relatively poor visibility (he had not the courtesy to phone me before to advise and cancel) There are a larger number, than we care to admit, of cavalier schools who have instructors who cannot understand what it was like to be a less than confident beginner or an out of practice PPL
Yes this case can be put to bed by saying that the pilot David Walker was P1 and made bad decisions - hopefully the coroner in answering the question 'Why?' will take a broader society based approach and look beyond the simple Pilot in command decisions and say there were organisational (and value standard) reasons contributing to the catastrophe. Note I did not say causing - may be difficult for some black and white ANO quoters to understand a complex chain of events with contributory factors.
I am not contradicting the black and white responsibility thing - indeed if that was drummed into every beginner from the moment they stepped into a cockpit then some would have the courage to challenge the sky gods.
But human beings being what they there will still be FTO bullies and still be weak P1's
Whilst the P1 "always responsible" issue should not be subordinated to the duty of care argument and, indeed in simplistic terms it is the main reason then, if we are to stop this happening again, we must expect schools to behave responsibly as some I have known do - e.g. checking the pilots decisions before he is given the keys.
I think the lawyers in the US would have a field day on duty of care on this one
One thing I have learned is you can't always trust the uniform and gold bars and at the end of the day you are on your own