The B74main gears are stressed [and approved] to touch down in a crab, if necessary
Yeah, the margins are pretty good;
If the skipper was new or lost his nerve, or if some ops limitation kicked in then a go-around was in place.
The airplane itself is pretty forgiving however.
That being said, a B-767 is much easier to land in a strong x-wind and a DC-8-70 is a bit more challenging.
