SJ . I see nothing where he is supporting anything the pilots do/did .
This was an accident and his statements appear to be neutral , probably carefully advised , so as not to point a finger at the airline and at the same time deflect attention away from a very public event in a failed attempt at being facetious . He actually said that the pilots SHOULD have refused ATC . Doesn't seem like he is defending their actions . At this point he cannot publicly throw the crew under the bus as it would have implications for "his" airline .