Olive Oil,
A) There is no evidence to say that the pilots were "foolish".
B) Are you suggesting that had the passengers not been on board, then the decision of negligence would not be required?
There is, however:
A) Evidence (by admission) that speculation was used in place of a requirement for absolutely no doubt whatsoever.
B) Evidence of a history of problems with this very aircraft.
Kind regards,
Brian
"Justice has no expiry date" - John Cook