>>I hestitate to second guess those individual decisions today.
I agree, but the feds will dissect everything and come up with "findings".
The FedEx DC-10 crew with the cargo fire at Stewart was criticized by the NTSB for not completing lengthy smoke and fire checklists accurately and instead concentrating on getting the plane on the ground ASAP. The captain took a hit for announcing "We need to get the f**k out of here!" instead of calling for a formal recitation of the Phase One memory items on the Emergency Evacuation checklist after the aircraft came to a stop. (See:
http://www.ntsb.gov/Publictn/1998/AAR9803.pdf )
Whatever their faults in the eyes of the feds, the KSWF DC-10 crew, like yesterday's KMEM MD-10 crew, earned the coveted title of "Survivors".