I try and look at the facts....
Fact 1. A squawk that should not have been emitted, was emmitted.
Fact 2. A lot of expense and effort followed.
The wrong squawk was caused by one of the following:
1. Incorrect setting.
2. Transponder fault causing it to emit [benefit of the doubt, Beefer], with incorrect setting causing nationwide panic.
So the pilot was guilty of one of the following:
1. Not knowing the basic rules of the air.
2. Not concentrating on what he was doing.
3. Making an honest [though costly] mistake.
If it's the latter, I have no problem with his actions.....god knows Ive made mistakes myself.
However, if you make a mistake - you fess up and help ensure nobody else makes the same mistake. What you can't do is blame the kit for accidentally emitting a code that should never have been set.
Someone needs to zip up a man suit and take it on the chin.