hummingfrog,
Im all for stickin up for my puma mates but lets take the facts for what they are:
The guys departed on a leg which is believed to be 20 miles. 20 miles as the crow flies, not following roads. If they were to follow roads from Applecross to Altbea the distance would be at least double that.
They had 27 mins fuel. Lets take it that this is useable fuel & not to tanks dry. Theres no way that these guys would be flying at 130kts(20 miles in 9mins) as you believe, low level in poor wx. More than likely they would be flying at a speed suitable for the conditions. Therefore not plenty of fuel & a reserve.
At some stage they would have approached their PNR and would have decided to push on or return. Or they would have reached Bingo fuel and turned back.
They landed the a/c because they had insufficient fuel to go any further. Land or fall from the sky - no captaincy decision req'd, just common sense, survival instinct. No other reason. Poor weather was only a cause for them to run low on fuel. As was the poor decision to push on, or even takeoff in the first place.
Were you ever SH?
You should have stayed Blue/Green for a little longer & learned a few things before prematurely pulling the Yellow & Black to go to pastures Greener.