Me myself,
You make some very interesting observations in a your posts...many of which I agree with.
Why was AF447 they in that thunderstorm?
Interestly we might learn something from the seafaring industry...P+O have very strict SOPs as to when the skipper or commander must be on the bridge of their cruise ships even though they have watch officers who are very very experiencedWhy? Simply because the buck stops with him. They`ve had 170 years of experience and have learnt from previous accidents/incidents. He must be on the bridge not only going into and out of port(take-off and landing) but for instance in busy shipping lanes like the Channel shipping lanes , anytime in fog, anytime a pilot is on board and difficult navigations like the Dardenelles. Why do you think they have these rules? Airline SOPs for when the Capt is on the `bridge` are limited to take-off and landing but i think you`re right -I treat each F/O on merit and you do have to think carefully about when would be the best time to rest if at all....some more thought will go into this area no-doubt.