The __wt_write function does a check if the system has panic'd, to avoid a write that is likely going to make things worse. It might be interesting to add a similar check for if the connection has been closed, that is, if the transaction subsystem has shut down, as a write after that point is guaranteed to be a mistake.

    /*
     * Do a final panic check before I/O, so we stop writing as quickly as possible if there's an
     * unanticipated error. We aren't handling the error correctly by definition, and writing won't
     * make things better.
     */
    WT_RET(WT_SESSION_CHECK_PANIC(session));