What's the inside angle on admitting liability like this? Keep it out of the courts and therefore no discovery and depositions that become public record?
Precisely. There is dubious flight hour qualification and going into a corridor at night.
And possible failure to adjust altimeter after a storm pressure front has passed, before takeoff.
I think the older veteran copilot is not forceful enough when he noticed as being too high.
Doesn't help that ATC was dismissive as well either due to ignorance or misunderstanding.
Regretfully, a veritable comedy of errors. Better to settle ouy of court than set a precedent.
And the latest NDAA includes a provision to give the military special permission to ignore transportation regulations during training, undermining recommendations by and efforts of the NTSB to prevent exactly this kind of tragedy from reoccurring somewhere else.
There is a HUGE amount of pushback against it.
Don’t do it.