One problem you left out the relevant part. Apple Software allows the App maker to update the app. The update shutdown the unit as reported.
Apple's software allowed an update by a third party to shutdown their unit.
APLLE'S FAULT! QED!
LOL ... I see you’re resorting to rumors by passengers ... versus ... statements by the company, on the record ... :-) ...
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American Airlines planes grounded by iPad app error
http://www.bbc.com/news/technology-32513066
“We experienced technical issues with an application installed on some pilot iPads,” said a spokesman.
“This issue was with the third-party application, not the iPad, and caused some departure delays last night and this morning.
“Our pilots have been able to address the issue by downloading the application again at the gate prior to take-off and, as a back-up, are able to rely on paper charts they can obtain at the airport.
“We apologise for the inconvenience to our customers.”
American Airlines pilots use an app called FliteDeck, which is made by the Boeing subsidiary Jeppesen.
The issue was caused by a duplicate chart for Reagan National Airport in American’s chart database,” said Mike Pound.
“The app could not reconcile the duplicate, causing it to shut down.
“We were able to remedy the situation quickly, and instruct pilots to uninstall and reinstall the app.
“Until the chart database is updated, AA pilots flying to or from National will use PDF [portable document format] images of the chart, outside of the app.”
Other reports say the APP quit, not the iPad. Let's look at the rest of the "updated report" from MacNN:
"Update: An American Airlines representative has clarified what actually happened in a statement obtained by MacNN. The issues, which centered around the Jeppeson Mobile Terminal Chart app, was caused by an update pushed automatically to pilots' iPads that had an updated runway map for a specific airport -- Ronald Reagan Washington National -- that caused a conflict with existing versions of the app, causing the iPad to crash. "[The issue] was not a system-wide or a fleet-type problem," said spokesperson Casey Norton. The problem occurred only when pilots "accessed a particular map. SOURCE
Company IT departments have special app channels for doing that for proprietary iPads. I do it for the iPads under my control. Also apps on iPads operate in sandboxes. This article is one of the early ones. The later articles I read stated the App quit repeatedly on trying to load the route the pilots were to fly when it attempted to load the charts. I think the App shut down, not the iPad. Having an App cause a full kernel crash on a UNIX system is very hard to accomplish. I've never seen one. iPads issued to pilots come from the Airlines and any software on them are controlled by the company IT department. Any "pushing" done would come from them, not Apple.