Comment Re:Biggest issue is still liability (Score 1) 177
For cases where the only difference is who was making the decisions, I'd say liability should be with the manufacturer. Other cases are similar to existing with-driver cases: parts failure (manufacturer), skipped maintenance (owner), poorly performed maintenance (shop that did the work).
In the end, like with FAA investigations, everything boils down to pilot error and equipment failure, and in many cases "not dealing with equipment failure properly" is considered pilot error. The only question is who's the pilot.