Mahon and Vette only told the public what the US DoD had known about for decades. White-out wasn't some mystery never before seen, it was just one of the many problems with operating in Antartica. The US Navy alone had lost 10 aircraft in Antartica in the previous 3 decades. No surprise when AirNZ suggested flying down there that the US DoD wanted nothing to do with them.
The crew were completely lacking in experience for the situation they got themselves into. Morrie Davis may have panicked and behaved badly subsequent to the accident but he wasn't PinC.
Chippendale did nothing wrong. The crew broke the AirNZ SOPs, he saw them as responsible for putting the aircraft where they did. The buck stopped there.