Negative!!! A pilots are in command of their aircraft, aircraft systems, and regime of flight. It just comes down to negligence! We are not talking low IFR conditions here. It was plain dereliction of duty on all in the cockpit!
Those poor passengers and cabin crew did not have to have their lives sacrifised do to incompetence of the crew!
captjns, I am not surprised that my posting has elicited comments such as yours and to an extent I agree with you.
But I really do not think it is quite as simple as that. Notwithstanding that we do not know
all the facts I would agree that it seems that the crew have not performed in a manner that all professional aviators would expect.
But the point I was making it that it is the overall "system" which has allowed this to come about. No crew member ever gets on the a/c with the intent or even the expectation of crashing the aeroplane.
All aspects have to be considered. e.g. the airlines safety culture, the State's regulation and overseeing of an operation, the selection, training and checking procedures etc etc. These are all part of the Swiss cheese model so that when all the holes line up an accident occurs.
I just think it is too simplistic to say that the crew were just negligent. We need to know why they acted as they did.