Quoting Clandestino:
"If you lose all power, go for best glide and turn towards nearest appropriate landing area before trying to restart."
There's been discussion here as to whether the priority should have been to relight or establish the best glide to an alternate. Mostly either/or. Clandestino's quote above states the blindingly obvious. What one thought was the basic airmanship learned in unreliable machinery over hostile terrain: always have half an eye out for some place to put the thing down and get out intact.
These two pilots were within gliding distance of more than one airport, weren't they. When they came around to considering the possibility of having to deadstick, it was too late.
It's almost embarrassing to ask if there's a generalised mindset, some sort of overconfidence to do with the US being dotted so densely with airports, that might lead people, like these two, to invert the priorities.