Originally Posted by
excrab
It was not the fault of the innocents on the ground, but you can guarantee that the pilot of this or any other aircraft ever involved in any sort of crash did not take off with the intention of causing injury or death to either himself or herself or any bystanders.
This is true. But where a pilot proceeds with reckless disregard for the safety of those on the ground, and as a result of that reckless disregard causes deaths, injury and/or property damage they are just as culpable as if they had deliberately crashed into them.
The question here is one of whther the accumulated shortcomings in the preparation and operationof aeroplane and pilot collectively constitute such reckless disregard. And that's a decision which can only be made by a court - "aviation professionals" can inform the decision, but they can't make it.