The Captain absolutely is at fault. He signed for the aircraft under FAR121
yes, however it's a shared responsibility with the dispatcher: "no person may start a flight unless an aircraft dispatcher specifically authorizes that flight" (121 Subpart U)
and "The pilot in command and the aircraft dispatcher are jointly responsible for the preflight planning, delay, and dispatch release of a flight in compliance with this chapter and operations specifications." (Subpart T)
a sub-fleet is operationally challenging...as it has just been proven.
Last edited by deptrai; 14th Sep 2015 at 10:13.