Betty, you say
I know for a fact, ac as large as the 777 have been involved in such a manoeuvre without incident.
Debatable, in my opinion. The 777 you refer to may have been a -200, which is very different animal in real estate rquired to make a tight turn to a -300.
With the (wonderful) benefit of 20/20 hindsight, I don't think that turn would be do-able for a 777-300, and I'd be inclined to think it would be rather tight for a -200. However, that would not have been evident to the crew, who found themselves in a very unusual situation at an unfamiliar airport and following ATC instructions. I'm sure the view from the flight deck would not be nearly as clear as from Google Earth(!)
I've never flown with the captain myself, but from the dealings I've had with him, I'd have to agree with the other favourable comments I've read here. He strikes me as a throughly professional operator.