Having spent 10 years in the military, only a worthless leader takes a vote.
As for the influence of the crew, the captain of that plane still had the final decision. Not having been on that plane, I don’t know what influenced the pilot in his decision to land were he did, but the decision was his and his only.
To call the crew cowardly is to blame the entire crew for the decision of the captain of that aircraft. I don’t know why he made the decision he did, he might have been influenced by his concern for the safety his “cowardly” crew.
“To call the crew cowardly is to blame the entire crew for the decision of the captain of that aircraft. I don’t know why he made the decision he did, he might have been influenced by his concern for the safety his “cowardly” crew.”
Pick your coward I don’t care. How many WW2 Bomber pilots flew much farther under worse conditions. That highly sensitive P3 Orion and what it carried was worth the risk it would take to keep it out of enemy hands and make the push for other options.
It begs the question, was it a gift to the Chinese?
The USA is perceived as weak.