What difference does it make if you're the captain of a passenger jet with hundreds of people aboard?
Your break time comes up, you take a break. That's it.
Of course!
It's stated clearly in his union contract.
Someone fought for his right to a break.
Please, he took a scheduled break before the crisis hit (SOP).
I’ll bet he thought, “What the duck. I was just up there! I leave and the plane starts falling from the sky???”
Union rules?