2 cents from the cheap seats...and like everything else on here, its just an opinion
As has been alluded to several times...as a Captain, it is incumbent on us to gather all the facts before we make ANY decision. Sitting on your hands for a moment or grabbing a piece of gum to chew on while you gather info from the available sources during a emergency is paramount to NOT making a rash emotional, decision. These things don't happen in a vacuum...it is fluid and ever evolving. I know what I would have done...I think I do, at least as I sit here at groundspeed zero, I do. But as much as we drill and rehearse these things in our mind...we never really know how we will react in the "heat of the moment"...no pun intended. We can only hope we make the right decision...whatever they may be
As for the so-called drivel that people are posting about...I find a tremendous amount of learning available in it...mostly as a study in Human Factors. We know that some will sit there waiting for direction and some will take it into their own hands to do what they perceive needs to be done to survive. All of these things represent something to keep in mind and account for if I should ever be faced with the choice that the Captain and crew were faced with in this situation. Survival has never been based on rash decisions...only on thought out ones...albeit sometimes they need to made in VERY short order.
A Captain is obligated to gather the information in committee and act in the best interest of his passengers and crew...A Captain is not beholden to, or is it suggested that in the course of his decision making process to consider the collective desires of the keyboard warriors on any public opinion forum. If faced with a similar situation, I can tell you that "what PPrune thinks" will not factor in the decision making process.
I guarantee you that at the end of the day...as the Captain played this out over and over in his mind...if he screwed up, he knows it. If he got lucky...he knows it. I will say this about the Captain though...clearly being the salty dog that he is...is in possession of the biggest set of balls on the planet.
One last thought ...and this is just a little rant item...if you are a Captain or First Officer for a passenger carrier, and you are posting on here saying that if you were in the back as a "passenger" on this flight, in this situation...you would have got up and blown the slide yourself on your own volition...that is pure Bulls##t and you know it! To make such a statement represents a tremendously hazardous attitude...Offer assistance, but you are not in command...as a professional you SHOULD know this. Rant done!
Thanks for allowing me to post my opinion...I do enjoy all of the other opinions posted here as well...no matter where they come from.
Be safe out there!