No right answers exist… We're not talking what manuals say or don't say!
These words are just an opinion, Not procedural and not recommended!
Just my thought on how I have handled things in the past, and will in the future, as and when needed. I'm not an instructor and most times I'm flying with one other pilot onboard or alone. I seldom have to consider passengers, innocent or otherwise! But it strikes me, if you get the two front seats where they need to be, the others will be OK 
..........................................
Saving life and reputation after a screwup or a leak is the 'soup du jour'.
No-one gets a warm fuzzy feeling about theoretical range after the warning light comes on, and it means zilch if it's a leak...
I suggest that less experienced drivers come up with a plan for just about every eventuality you can imagine.
They're grouped together by their similar natures.... Get information from every source. Then plan for the eventuality, while your 3C (cool calm and collected) in your living room...
Then the only thing you have to do during the 'Event' is 'suck it up' and continue with the pre-planned decision. Do not try to second-guess yourself, when you're scared, tired or hung over .
My personal plan, in my typical role (External load of some kind) is:
Re-arm the belly hook and reduce power, and if I'm carrying excess speed above range auto, convert it to height.... dump whatever I'm carrying as per its value. If it's low value (a camp net etc) it's adios here and now. If it's a seismic dog box I place it in the nearest hole big enough for it, and hit the event button on the GPS....
Look around and track the least hostile terrain toward nearest clear ground. Do not over fly any safe LZ...Even if there's a hot coffee and a sandwich just over the next ridgeline. Put it on the ground Safely and dip/flashlight the tank. It could be an electrical glitch. There again it might not!
If your first look/dip at the contents makes you think..." Man, there's plenty of fuel "... go directly to coffee and sandwiches.
If your first impression is I wonder if there's enough?...There isn't....
Do not get a pencil and paper and start to calculate if you have just enough to get to the coffee...You don't! No matter what a thin pencil will tell you!
This is not the best plan in the world. There is no best plan in the world!
This just happens to be mine after a minor scare years ago over an 8/8ths undercast of giganticus woodicus
(a species of tree cloud,known well to Lama/astar/longranger type seismic pilots on a jungle gig)
Flying along with something overtemping or under pressuring, is not a good time to decide if you should aim for the dense packed giganticus woodicus and hope to get hung up with a tailslide entry...or try to weave thru lesser stands of g-woodicus and do a perfect zero fulldown in the 5' square clear patch.
I've got my answer already, as I tried it one way, and it sucked! 
I'm gonna go the other way if there's a next time!
Over water, I don't care what's happening! I'll reduce power under most circumstances and no matter what (With one or two exceptions) I would never ditch under power if there's a chance it'll keep flying to coffee and sandwiches...
This is not the best plan in the world But it's my plan, and I'm not going to change it when I'm Scared, tired or hungover
It doesn’t matter who’s philosophy you follow, or if you create your own.
Most experienced guys will form an opinion of your actions, but very few will openly criticize you for it. Because the truth of the matter is:
If you get into utility work, sooner or later someone’s gonna have a real bad day!....... And I know for myself. When it happens…My first, second and third thoughts are?
Thank God it was the other guy! And if he’s around to talk about?
He did alright!
170
in compliance with ec directive 1119-4s/s3b He refers to genderless operator of flight control systems. Subsection 177 of the abovementioned directive clearly refers to ‘hungover’ being synonymous with ‘feeling pretty ordinary’ ‘bottle flu’ and ‘ my ass hurts’