Several posters here need to learn when NOT to pile on. I appreciated your input and the way you dealt with things when you perceived they were getting out of hand. Thanks again.
What RochesterFan said. Pukin Dog was just pointing out some inside facts. Aside from the sentimental, human equation, in strategic and economic terms it can be argued that the pilot is worth more than that plane and pilots are trained as such. In those last seconds the pilot may decide that they couldn’t stand to be thought of for the rest of their life as someone who “bailed out”. If a pilot perceives that the general public’s expectation is that his only honorable choice is to go down with an unresponsive plane, this could pressure him at the last second to decide to remain in it. PD was pointing out how pilots are trained to respond pragmatically, not romantically.