Thanks Hippy: I was wondering the same; why did TWR give takeoff clearance? If the FPL office had advised the TWR of the situation then TWR could have held the a/c, yes/no?
Early on it was said that there was a company RHS pilot and the lady was an observer. There was even speculation the F/O was a captain. I think that has not been confirmed; nor any data about the F/O. Indeed their role in this event is not mentioned by anyone. Wanting to keep your job & wanting to stay alive are quite different. I thought S.Americans could be more assertive. We've seen this cockpit gradient problem in the Far East & SE Asia, but S.America? Mind you this one horse outfit might be the last chance for a co-jo. But what was the experience of the F/O? That must surely be known and become a factor in this discussion.
As for the dispatcher, who boarded the a/c, it's like loading the rifles of your own firing squad. Bizarre; or perhaps he had free tickets to the game.
No doubt there will be a local AAIB investigation and then a police criminal one. Follow the money. It would be no surprise to find a brown envelope link between Conmebol & LaMia.
CON ME BOL is an appropriate name, perhaps. A bit like one of Jasper Carrot's very early stories where he accepted a gig in Jersey with the flight paid for by 'Contours' only to find out it was only one way.