Your defense of Dom has never addressed the decisions he and his F/O made
Not defending the crew at all. Just pointing out that no one knows why the crew made the decisions they did. A proper ATSB report would have addressed the human factors, but sadly does not.
The company I work for has recently issued a FSO that restates the responsibility of the PIC
Presumably something along the lines of our ops manual
0.1 COMPLIANCE REQUIREMENTS
0.1.1 This Manual lays down the Company's standard instructions and procedures for flying operations and defines the duties and responsibilities of all aircrew. These instructions and procedures are mandatory for all aircrew, and shall be a condition of employment with the company.
0.1.2 Failure to observe these instructions or procedures may invoke severe penalties upon the Company. The Company therefore reserves the right to take disciplinary action against any person who fails to comply with these instructions or procedures.
0.1.3 This Manual shall not supersede or countermand any Regulations, Orders or Instructions issued by the Civil Aviation Safety Authority. Compliance only with the terms of this Manual shall not absolve any personnel from the responsibility of abiding by such Regulations, Orders and Instructions.
0.1.4 It is not the intention of this Manual to list all possible illegal activities. All pilots must therefore realise that any operation outside the guidelines of the CAO's, CAR's and this Manual may have severe legal implications on the Company. Illegal activities by pilots may result in action under the Company Disciplinary policy in force at the time.
One of the things called for in the ops manual, and in a CASA supplement to the flight manual, was that our operations always required an alternate for OEI purposes (helicopter operator). In 24+ years such was not complied with, and the entire operation was structured around non compliance. Funnily enough, when this was pointed out to the ATSB, CASA promulgated an edict whereby this particular operator is the only one permitted in Australia not to comply with the alternate requirement.
What does "S" stand for in CASA? The above situation has a Norfolk Island set up all over it, just waiting for an unfortunate event to catch a crew out.
When you get a spare moment from swanning about in your shiny jet you might get the dictionary out and look up plagiarise for its correct definition.
That is an awful lot of verbiage to try and describe what was in effect a series of errors that should not have been made.
That they should not have been made is obvious, even to a blind man. The question that has not been answered is why they were made. The verbiage is an attempt to show what factors may impinge on the decision making process and why people do what they do.