This is a great thread, I look forward to reading the final verdict.
I would draw attention to the Kegworth crash, where the flight crew told the pax and crew that they had shut down the wrong engine, even though they had witnessed flames from the damaged engine.
In that case asking a "silly" question may have saved lives.
As flight crew its our job to operate the aircraft safely, taking account of the ground and cabin crew as they can often see things we can't but in the end its the Captain's who is in charge of the aircraft not the cabin crew and not the F/O.
$21000, im off to law school if aviation goes tits up!