TractorBoy
The preamble to the Regulation has no legal force, it is taken as guidance by the court but it is not binding.
And it doesn't matter, decisions of the ECJ are final and cannot be appealed. (Although Courts in member states have asked the ECJ to reconsider decisions, but there is no requirement that they do so)
Compensation was always considered as a punitive measure, intended to stop those nasty airlines from cancelling flights for commercial reasons. If the cancellation was caused for reasons outside their control (ie extraordinary circumstances) then compensation shouldn't apply. However the EC/EP intentionally did not extend the exclusion to the duty of care (or to denied boarding, for that matter).