UAL has some really weak pilots. They had a major screw up a few years ago on departure out of SFO in a 747-400. The F/O almost put it into the hill on departure when he couldn't handle an engine failure. If there is an error in this incident I would look to the UAL crew first, then the GA guy and the controller.
I've been waiting for this to come up. As I heard it, a "bunkie" was making his first ever line TO, lost an engine and just carried on as the 744 drifted right and cleared San Bruno Mountain by less than 100 feet. There is a subdivision on the North side of the mountain, and the plane set off quite a few car alarms as it passed overhead.
The incident was kept quiet for several months, then it hit the news. It was a one day story as I remember.
United's management had the s**t scared out of them because of the Captain's non-reaction to the emergency. The aircraft was not climbing and drifting right for quite some time.
Most of United's crews were sent to Denver for intensive retraining and evaluation.
I heard this from a United Captain who was on the investigation board.
The only relation that this incident has to the one being discussed is that it happened in about the same place