Capt. Sly
You make it out like I don't know SFO.
I was born in San Francisco. I learned to fly at one of the small airports in that area. I Have operated at SFO with General Aviation aircraft and as a pilot for four different airlines there (one very big, the other, so called regionals).
I know the hills having flown over them and walked them and bicycled them, let alone driven in an automobile.
I've shopped at the shopping mall benath the departure route (Tanforan...which, by the way was the sight of old MILLS FIELD, San' Francisco's first airport and the place where the first plane to land upon a ship took off from)
This was a non event. AS P51 guy mentioned, 300 feet vertical and 1500 feet horizontal...that is nothing. P51 guy is right...that is more than a side by side approach to landing at SFO. (though true side by's are less likely now)
AS to what a BIG JET can do or not. It is like any plane as long as the pilot knows what to do. But if you are overly dependent upon autothrottles and too use to just going: "do, dah do, I are a big airplane pilot just hanging on for dear life", yeah, you will exceed some limit if you aren't ready to fly the heck out of a plane.
Now, I do think ATC should have advised the 777: traffic , a GEN AV, along departure path, he has you in sight...prior to takeoff clearance.
I remember being instructed for a go around at La Guardia due to a plane on the runway. I went around, complying with published missed instructions...oh, the tower said, there is a gen av seaplane at 1500' so maintain 1000'...this at 800'. Yeah, I actually had to retard the throttles by hand to level off and not exceed flap speeds. heavens to betsy.!!!!!
Later I was awarded the distinguished flying cross and the cross de guere.
Come on, wake up and fly the damn thing.
(the above decorations are of course an exageration to make the point...pilots fly the plane and not the other way 'round.)