Winstun,
On this one, I agree with you. These guys didn't know how much gas they took off with, period. They luckily saved their #rses.
I wonder if a "brace" call would have been appropriate before sideslipping a 767?? "@hit, where's that trolley going??!!". Or the pax in seat 34A to pax in 34B: "geez, I've never been able to see the runway like this before!!".