I really don't understand why there is all this discussion of rules/regs... when I last studied Av Law (admittedly some time ago, in NZ) there was a rule that said essentially: in a time of emergency, biff the rule-book out the window and just do whatever you need to do to recover safely -but be prepared to have to justify your decisions and actions. To my way of thinking that was all just PinC responsibility -the PinC is always the final arbiter of the flights' conduct. Commercial pressures should never figure into your thinking in an emergency situation.