How does a lawyers drivel impact the unfortunate realities. There is absolutely no true indication of what the root cause was. If you are to believe the previous reports indicating significant maintenance issues then its negligence.
However I find it hard to fathom that the chief engineer and a seasoned pilot would knowing fly an airplane (with or without passengers) with significant safety issues.
If it's fuel problems (false load/contamination etc) that's another local issue...
Engine problem followed by a bird strike or double bird strike is just bad luck...
what puzzles me is the following combination...
The emergency was declared very late so I'd assume that the plane had no prior engine issues. Wouldn't the pilot have notified both company and ATC if he was approaching with a single engine? Same if gauges showed potential fuel starvation.
The fact (according to reports) that the comment was that the throttles weren't working??? wouldn't a fuel starvation flame out or a bird strike induced failure show on the panel with a multitude of warnings??
No call of a flame out or engine fire. Is it possible for the actual throttle quadrant linkage (mechanical or FBW) to break on a modern jet???