BUT the fact that both pilots did the wrong thing is an indictment of colgan training and evaluation.
Training, evaluation, and I think most important management practices.
There is an addendum to the CVR report that goes back and covers the hour from pushback to TO. From my point of view it is incredibly depressing / grisly / freightening reading. Almost the entire conversation of both pilots seems to be "everything I do is so I can get more pay".
There is a side note of someone that came to work that day and for the first time in 6 years forgot to bring some book with him, and was white as a sheet expecting to be fired instantly as a result. The pilot lent him his book to keep him from being fired.
I stopped reading after the first 20 pages or so, it was just too depressing. But it sure makes one wonder. This isn't the conversation of professionals. This is the conversation of indentured servants that know that they won't be paid enough to keep themselves healthy, and are in fear of their lives to be caned half to death at the slightest whim of the Master.
In the 1700s in England and France it was normal for servants to live this way, it was a direct outgrowth of the feudal system. The early industrial age didn't change things much; Jenny still worked at the loom for 30% of what she was worth and could be fired on the slightest whim of some passing manager (who also lived in fear of being fired). It didn't change until the USA of the time showed that you got better results by paying people decently.
And now we have Jenny-at-the-loom flying airplanes in that same USA. In fear of their lives about being fired for trivial causes, and doing anything they can to get a little more pay so they can afford to eat every day, and not just other day.
I'm not sure I feel all that comfortable with Jenny flying; she is desperate to do good and win approval of management (and get paid). But desperation doesn't always lead to sound judgement, and sound judgement seem like it would be important in a dangerous position in charge of many random lives.
One could wonder how we got to this pass. But there is no need to wonder, just look at the history. More interesting is wondering just how bad it will get, and just what the result will be, before something changes. And wondering what it is that will make the change. History seems to say that the change will not occur internally; management is quite happy with their quarterly bonus society, and really doesn't care about the serfs; indeed, they are largely annoyed that they exist at all.
I have to wonder where this will lead. Will airlines cease to exist in another decade because all of their planes fall out of the sky? Or will they just go bankrupt and shut down first? Or something else... Maybe Good Sense will finally prevail at the last minute?