threemiles:
It doesn't shorten the landing run, but you do get more runway available in front of the airplane. Always handy on a short runway.
BOAC:
You hit the nail right on its head. as is clear from the CVR transcript, RETARD, RETARD was said by the onboard computer, so apparently they didn't pull back the thrust lever(s) far enough....right?
But why did they not pull back the TL's?
- they forgot?
- they miss-grabbed the right thrust lever, and therefore it stayed too far forward?
- they were focussing too much on the short, slippery runway?
- they had become too accustomed to Airbus autoflight behaviour and became somewhat expectant of the system to solve it for them?
I have the feeling that the airplane was doing exactly what it was designed to do. No computer glitches or latent design flaws. But you do need people in the cockpit who know what an airplane is going to do in certain situations.
It all comes down to good training.