Yes it is an absolute - a pilot flying other people is responsible for them. And I don't recall Ghandi, Schumacher, Tiger Woods, Michael Jordan, Mother Theresa or Nelson Mandela being pilots. Lets not have any spurious equivalency here.
Lets put it this way - 100-500 people could have died because the crew lined up on the taxiway not the runway. It is not really relevant that two humans log 30,000 boring flight hours. Others could have died. They are supposedly professionals and are paid to be professional. The responsibility they bear is very hefty but they accept that when they become commercial pilots. If you fly airliners you are responsible for the people who fly on your aircraft. You make sure that you do your best because other people trust you with their lives. Seriously there is no excuse for trying to land on a taxiway instead of a runway.