Again as a non-pilot, I see some interesting 'compare and contrast' opportunities between AF447, BA38 and 'The Miracle on the Hudson'. In the first case, it _appears_, based on expert informed discussion in this thread, that the pilot(s) turned a potential minor high-altitude whoopsie when the aircraft suffered a comparitively minor technical failure at high altitude into a catastrophic crash, and in the latter two cases, pilots were handed catastrophic situations seconds from big smoking cratersville in the middle of major cities and used incredible skill and judgement to make inspired decisions not drawn from any manual, simulator exercise or checklist to save everybody on board (from memory, I read on here that the BA guy did something unusual and undocumented with the flap settings on the spur of the moment that got him onto the runway and... well, the miracle needs no further exposition). Do these cases really bear comparison in the above fashion?
Edit: And if they do, was the only relevant variable factor the background, experience and training of the crews involved?