hawker750, you talk much sense there.
Surely it would be prudent for the Captain to be on the flightdeck when approaching an area of hazardous weather such as the ITCZ? Is there not anything in the Air France Operations Manual which states this?
I think this sort of thinking outside the box is not encouraged in pilots anymore.
Sadly it often isn't know apart from some notable exceptions by some operators but you can't blame it on the individuals - they are merely a product of the "system".
There are times when you just have to have the moral courage (aka b***s) to do what you consider necessary and face the music later.