No matter how well we understand our FOM, and whether design engineers credit thrust reversers for less stopping distance etc, when approaching an airport with only short runways (short or long: full length available) the question for us will always be:
With two or three bad factors (short, wet, possibly scattered patches of snow, or heavy weight aircraft, maybe a little tailwind, dark...), Should We Land, OR Divert? And these do not include higher elevation runways.
How about your aircraft being recently overhauled at "outsourced" maintenance hangars? Have your own mechanics/engineers (assuming that your company has any left...) described how many problems come out of
some of these facilities? Hint: "Sweet home......I'm coming home to you"
Some of these factors should be considered before we bypass any suitable alternates enroute to the destination, depending on fuel remaining.
I'm still baffled-How does an absolutely perfect understanding of performance manuals and memorized limitations help us if we become Mission-Oriented to the exclusion of everything else?
Books can not be allowed to overrule pilot judgement, including on the last day/leg of a trip.
Studies have proven how many chances are taken by pilots on the last leg home. With a thrust reverser on MEL, I might refuse to accept any plane sceduled to land on a runway with wet conditions observed or forecast-even if it is 9500' at sea level in calm winds, no matter what the MEL book states. Your company's main concern is flying those passengers from A to B. That is their problem. Your problem is safety (and possibly continuing your career?). An airline's operation personnel already display a lack of judgement when no substitute jet is made available.
Our company Dispatchers normally do anything they can to re-route certain problem aircraft (anti-skid or thrust rev. on MEL), based on some conversations I've had with them.
Limitations are based upon test pilots flying brand-new aircraft over and over again with perfect brakes and antiskid systems, mostly to dry runways.