@ capn bloggs:
If a private company had that policy/did that, they'd have their backsides sued-off in a flash.
Might want to read some of that fine-print legalese in your cell-phone contract, or when you accept/agree the license to run software on your computer.
No question, though, that there exists a crack in the system. For MOST flights, it is never a factor - but this crew (and TWA 514) both fell through it, 39 years apart.