Chronus
I have to say I find that just a little harsh.
Very difficult to know how one would react given the back stabbing innuendo going on behind his back which no-one seemed too keen to eradicate in a timely fashion.
We are all different, and just because someone isn't a hard nosed b@st@rd able to rest totally insensitive to what is said & happening around him , doesn't , in my eyes at least, disqualify him from having "the right stuff."
BALPA seem to have been pretty ineffectual too, sorry to dissapoint you but I would probably have gone out and got totally trashed too, however I wouldn't have done so with the union lackies as my first choice of company.
Don't think this incident compares too well with either Sully or Air Transat.
If you want a better comparison try Ryanair in Ciampino, they both had to react instinctively in a very short time scale, the other two incidents, whilst also displaying exemplary handling skills, were also blessed with just a bit more time to execute the manouveres required.
Something you do miss in your eulogy to them however, is that there was, I believe, some criticism attached to the procedures used and lack of monitoring prior to the Air Transat incident.
They did famously to pick up all the pieces at the end, but if memory serves me well were judged to have had a part in the problem along with the technical issues they were handed. This is most certainly NOT the case in the other 3 incidents I have mentioned.