The article opens by explaining that the cause of this crash wasn't ever determined- rather, it's the changes in safety regulations that resulted.
In that frame suddenly the driver stops saying they weren't too drunk to drive and says next time they'll take a cab. The policeman stops saying the suspect "wasn't complying" and agrees that they need training on how to de-escalate situations.
Medicine does have tools for this, the M&M conference (medics discussing why somebody died or had a bad outcome and how to do better next time) is under-used.
Humans are fallible, blaming a specific human makes us feel better but does not prevent the same thing happening again.
> The National Transportation Safety Board determines that the probable cause of this accident was the captain’s inappropriate response to the activation of the stick shaker, which led to an aerodynamic stall from which the airplane did not recover. Contributing to the accident were (1) the flight crew’s failure to monitor airspeed in relation to the rising position of the lowspeed cue, (2) the flight crew’s failure to adhere to sterile cockpit procedures, (3) the captain’s failure to effectively manage the flight, and (4) Colgan Air’s inadequate procedures for airspeed selection and management during approaches in icing conditions.
[1] https://www.ntsb.gov/investigations/AccidentReports/Reports/...
[1] The report would be hearsay in a criminal case and admissible only if the government demonstrates an exception to the rule against hearsay evidence.
The NTSB tries to determine "Probably cause". That's a far cry from assigning blame. In particular, on every NTSB report there's a big box specifically saying (my emphasis):
> The NTSB does not assign fault or blame for an accident or incident; rather, as specified by NTSB regulation, “accident/incident investigations are fact-finding proceedings with no formal issues and no adverse parties ... and are not conducted for the purpose of determining the rights or liabilities of any person.” 49 C.F.R. § 831.4. Assignment of fault or legal liability is not relevant to the NTSB’s statutory mission to improve transportation safety by investigating accidents and incidents and issuing safety recommendations.
Furthermore, to "ensure that Safety Board investigations focus only on improving transportation safety, the Board's analysis of factual information and its determination of probable cause cannot be entered as evidence in a court of law."