The phrase "The blind leading the blind" comes to mind. And the arrogance, nastiness & rigid mind-set of some are starting to show. And then out come the personal attacks.
There are no SOP's to cover every possible situation than can & does arise in aviation. This is an industry that requires flexibility & an ability to think outside the box. There are times to strictly follow SOP's & times when one needs to have the foresight & systems knowledge to go outside the SOP's, in order to ensure a good outcome. It takes airmanship, experience & a flexible mindset in order to know the difference. And every airline I have worked for has had that 'last line of defence' in their manuals. It is also in the Boeing Flight Crew Training manual.
One has to remember that most SOP's are there because someone messed up. In many cases, they tend to bring the operation down to the lowest common denominator. This is often a butt-covering exercise by management in today's environment of 'someone else is always to blame for my mistakes'. They are designed to give the worst pilot in the operation the best possible chance of completing the operation safely, every time they take an aircraft into the air.
Selecting TCAS by memory & locking the shoulder harness for ditching are both examples of thinking outside the box. Tips that others may not have thought of & are worthy of being passed on for us all to think about & consider. Pilots who spend time considering these things often do better when faced with difficult circumstances. If I remember correctly, Sully had spent time considering what he would do & where he would go if he had to put an aircraft down after departure from New York. It served him, his crew & his passengers very well indeed.
However, one must always remember that the buck stops with the flight crew, particularly the captain. And as such, one needs to be in a position where a particular decision or action can be justified in light of the circumstances that were present at the time. Particularly when you go outside SOP's & particularly when it doesn't end well.