This really sucks! While I'm unlikely to be in SC in the near future, it's still terrible to lose a field, and potentially a group of dedicated folks - I'm just now learning what a valuable asset a club of like-minded rocketeers can be.
That said, and I'm obviously not trying to be an ass here, but as a mostly neutral party it objectively seems like the industrial site manager has a legitimate beef - it's probably not fair to call him a douchebag despite his, uh, unmeasured response. After all, you DID overfly a populated site with a big, potentially dangerous object. And while nobody got hurt, that sounds like mostly luck. What would have happened if it was a full on lawn dart instead of just a tangled chute? Sure, the building was mostly empty and you "almost" made the parking lot, but again, you're relying on luck to protect uninvolved bystanders (not informed spectators) who didn't consent to being overflown by big potentially dangerous objects. Intentional or not,you really did put someone's life and property at risk, and that person is under no obligation to consent to future risk.
I'm basing this on Bercini's earlier description of multiple rockets leaving the field due to weather cocking and only coming back while drifting under chute. Al's the unlucky guy that had a bad chute, but any of those rockets could have had the same or much worse happen. Honestly, I think once the weather is causing properly performing rockets to leave the safe landing area at any time during flight, you need to stop launching, as tough as that is (major respect to all range officers, who risk the wrath of rocketeers, and their own disappointment, to keep things safe). The FAA waiver altitude is irrelevant - they're mainly responsible for the airspace, it's up to you to protect the public on the ground. This didn't "JUST HAPPEN" - apparently observable, predictable conditions made an otherwise safe flight an unnecessarily hazardous one.
Not trying to assign blame or personally attack anyone - ultimately, **** happened and you got bit, despite everyone's best efforts and intentions. But if we're going to protect the hobby, it's important to learn a lesson if there's a lesson to be learned. And I don't think "if people we hurt get upset, they are irrational douchebags on a mission" is a helpful lesson. I think cw's statement that "we need to look at the last 20 years as a gift" is definitely the right attitude. The public owes us nothing - we're outnumbered by several orders of magnitude. And they don't know all that we put into these things. All they know is that a big fiery thing came down from the sky and put a dent in their roof.
If it helps, I say this as a guy who works on space launch vehicles, each one of which carries big explosives that blow the whole thing to smithereens, no questions asked, if the IIP crosses a line on a map. Doesn't matter if it still has a chance to come back, doesn't matter if the payload is worth billions. If the risk to the public goes above a certain number, BLAMMO.