in hindsight a wheels up is best. But when making that decision as in still airborne faced with little time it would be a hard pill to swallow when you know that there will be damage to the plane landed wheels up as against a wheels down ldg where it might have been possible to get off scott free
Wally this, like many other flying senarios, is best worked through in your head before the event - eg "what would I do if .......".
In my view, at the point when the engine stops delivering sufficient goods to keep me airborne, the insurance company owns the aeroplane - and I am totally commited to parking it in a manner that maximises my chances (and that of my pax) of walking away from it in one piece.
Dr 