pj2 your post worries me:-
Quote - In fact, the neighbourhood "noise police" have more "authority", in terms of being listened to and taken seriously by airport authorities and politicians, than the captain, when it comes to runway use. It's why airline captains aren't politicians and why politicians could never be airline captains. - Unquote
This thread has rambled away from the important aspects, especially as no-one yet knows precisely what happened. However a number of allegations have been made as to who MAY bear the ultimate or partial responsibility.
All of this dialogue is missing the priority that the captain's authority is constantly under pressure from outside sources, whether directly involved such as ATC, or extraneous persons desirous of being re-elected who inspire noise abatement take-off procedures and routings which are frankly not safety designed, and hence need rejecting as often as any responsible captain feels appropriate.