I agree one should have the right to kill oneself, but not when carrying passengers.
While noting in passing he wasn't, that point is interesting... I wouldn't think highly of the pilot who knowingly risks his passengers. But, wait, we all do don't we? For us PPLs, flying as a non-commercial operation, our passengers are probably safer staying on the ground than flying with us (although hopefully only a
little bit safer!
).
Which just illustrates once more that flying in general, and private flying in particular, is about managing risks rather than eliminating them. How much risk is too much risk? By leaving that judgment up to the pilots, we do in fact have not the right to kill our passengers, but certainly the right to do things that
could kill our passengers (i.e., get off the ground in the first place!).
The right for PPL pilots to make that judgement
ourselves is precious. There are far too many people, even among our own ranks, who want nothing more than to make decisions for other people, "for our own safety and that of those around us", as the standard term goes.
It is at least encouraging to see that this report did not see a need to make any recommendations.