Rubbish, this man is a blowhard. If the airplane was certified by the FAA to fly at FL410 after the manufacturer's tests, and as far as I know it was, then there is no fault on the part of the pilots. The fault is with the maker and the FAA for certifying the aircraft to fly at an unsafe altitude.
Pilots have to learn the "envelope" of their aircraft's performance. This was a perfect opportunity to do so without jeopardizing passengers, and as best I can tell, they conformed to all FAR's.
If you had never driven a car faster than 50 mph, would you be a better driver than someone who had legally and safely driven 90 in Montana? Especially if an emergency came when you had to drive someplace fast?
Regional jets don't usually fly at FL410 but there are scenarios in which it could happen; e.g. looking for better conditions in an unexpected storm, or in a September 11 situation in which the pilots and passengers regain control of the aircraft from hijackers who were flying it into Coffin Corner.
I'd just as soon have pilots with the skills needed to control the plane at any altitude. Too bad for these guys that their plane seems not to be up to snuff for its maximum altitude rating.
-ccm
No fault of the pilots? The aircraft slowed to 150knots at FL410. Does that sound ok to you in a 40000 pound aircraft?