Trial by all the 'experts' on PPRuNe.
You do not need to be an expert to read and apply CAO 82.0.
Sadly I have seen pilots I have flown with, pilots I have worked with and pilots who were friends who disregarded the very basic requirements of flying, whether it was flight planning, weather forecasts, fuel requirements, aircraft weight or their own limitations and are no longer with us.
At some stage the fuel would have burned down to what was required for the flight to the alternate plus reserves. At the flight planning stage this alternate fuel may have allowed for one or two approaches to be conducted. If stronger headwinds were encounter, the alternate time/fuel may have been reached at at TOD or even before TOD. This is the time to divert.
Been there done that.