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"And I'm not sure why you think the question would be rude, I don't have an ATP."

It could be taken as rude if you thought I was questioning your credibility. Based on your first posts to this thread I thought you had some practical knowledge of commercial flying. But then it became clear (to me) that you didn't. You've confirmed you don't have an ATP. Frankly, I'm glad to hear that because if you did I would be very surprised at your defense of these pilots. What they did on this flight was a series of intentional violations of basic airmanship and flight regulations. There is no excuse, ever, for doing that. That doesn't make this any less a tragedy. But it helps explain why it happened.

It could be taken as rude if you thought I was questioning your credibility.

I'd like to think that my credibility would be based on my statements rather than my ratings. Frankly, while the original question wasn't rude, this post seemed to me to be vaguely derogatory. I'm not a doctor, either, but that doesn't mean I can't state that antibiotics won't help a cold and be correct about it.

I am currently reading through the link you posted (which I appreciate, though it took some prodding). However, there are hundreds of pages of information. While I'll get to them all eventually, perhaps you could specify which regs were violated and in which link in that document I could find the violation? I'm reading as fast as I can with my mouse in one hand and my 2005 FAR/AIM in the other; if you could specifically identify a violation, as opposed to casual cockpit language and perhaps poor phraseology, perhaps it'd help me and others to agree with you based on the facts.

What they did on this flight was a series of intentional violations of basic airmanship and flight regulations. There is no excuse, ever, for doing that. That doesn't make this any less a tragedy. But it helps explain why it happened.

Uh, well, I hold a Commercial SEL and CFII. Which makes me squat on this forum. However, I do know there is no violation of FARs, or deviation from anything in AIM (I guess that is what your are calling basic airmanship???).

Sorry, but from what we know, the service ceiling was FL41. They were legal, and the airframe probably shouldn't be. The fact that neither could wax poetic like a Shakespearian sonnet about their pending death is irrelevant armchair airmanship.