Originally Posted by ozstamps
As UA have no ground staff AFAIK in any of the above his choice was the only one basically.
Port Moresby *might* safely land a 747 - I am not sure, but the plane would likely have been stripped and vandalised by 11 am the next day even if it was possible.
Let's not put ozstamps in charge of an emergency!
Hopefully, the consideration of available groundstaff would not come up if the captain honestly thinks he has an emergency situation on board!