More likely because a ship's Captain is responsible for his passengers, his crew, his ship and his cargo and as such felt obliged to ensure that their safety and well being came first. Sometimes time ran out.
Possibly, but look at what happened to captains of passenger ships who had the poor taste to survive a sinking. We've got this very macho, pseudo-honourable thing where they're supposed to follow the fate of the vessel, however pointless that is.
While what you said is ultimately true of a pilot also, I wonder whether the negative attitude toward these two pilots might come from commenters having a ship's captain in mind, and thinking that they were abandoning their duty, (the safety of their passengers), when actually they improved the situation by not being part of it anymore.