sorry nomorecatering but your judgement is hardly that of Solomon
while what your instructor said way back then will always be spot on advice, it is not right to attempt to deliver summary justice
in a complex case like this
It's akin in a way to those diehards over Mount Erebus and Captain Jim Collins who will never admit
to the truth that an always super cautious, highly competent pilot entered a trap not of his own making
It can do your head in having to listen to 'the expert' in the bar telling everyone how "Joe Blow, he busted minimums -
end of story".