in the same situation, would have done differently? What would they have done? Rolling over not an acceptable answer.
And what good did his actions achieve? Probably every leader you described would have acted similarly, it still doesn’t make it right and still doesn’t mean he was a good leader or human being for that matter; it’s a pointless comparison. He had a choice to compromise and chose not to, with fatal consequences. Bobs entire legacy consists of the initiation of the slow demise of aviation in Australia, he can rot for it.