The RC16 option controls whether a user abend 16 or a return code of 16 will be issued for an unsuccessful sort.
If you wish to handle abends differently for JCL and program-initiated sorts, set the RC16 option for JCL-initiated sorts and set the PGMRC16 option for program-initiated sorts.
If you specify RC16=ABE, MFX will issue user abend 16 in the case of an unsuccessful sort. User abend 16 does not produce a dump.
If you specify RC16=NOABE (or NORC16), MFX will issue a return code of 16 when a sort is unsuccessful.