Positivegee:
"If you follow company SOP's and use reduced power take-off's and/or intersection departures (or any other company SOP's for that matter), a tech crew is protected by the law of vicarious liability. If a tech crew ignores company SOP's and are involved in any incident that results in any liability, a crew may be found negligent and a court may then find them liable. This is not to say a crew must used reduced power or intersection departures, that decision is always left to the PIC."
The first comment is not correct under English law. Vicarious liability is purely a mechanism by which an employer is held accountable for an employee's negligent actions. If you follow the SOP and it leads to an accident, the airline is vicariously liable for your actions. It does not "protect" the employee in any way! Indeed, if you follow erroneous SOPs blindly and they cause an accident, the "I was just doing what I was told to do" argument will not stand up in court. I think this is worth clarifying.