Agree with DC and Mr P above - this whole thing should have been kept in-house in the first place. The pilot is being represented by NZALPA. Let's hope that if anyone gets hung out to dry it is the CAA for pursuing this prosecution in the first place. Having seen the video taken by the passenger when it was online, and having regularly operated ZQN for a long time, I venture to say that people have seen far worse over the years, and it's never ended up in court at all. It sounds as if the crew were quite prudent in their analysis of the conditions and the appropriate actions to be taken in the event of abnormals occurring. The way that SOPS and manuals have to be written now one should really complete a law degree as part of the ATPL theory requirements it would seem.