Runway 12, Norman Manley International Airport, Kingston, Jamaica is 8900 feet long. Wet or dry conditions, it would seem that if a pilot overflys the first 4000 feet of a 9000 foot long runway, and attempts to land from that point, he/she is doing a huge disservice to him-/her-self, the company for which he/she works, the other pilot in the cockpit, the passengers, the airport authority, the airplane manufacturer, and everyone else that may read with interest the report of the occurrence – and this list is not necessarily in an order of importance! Am I missing something?
AirRabbit,
True, the crew touched down long. Obviously, that would seem to conflict with ops standards per the FAA and general airmanship standards. I would note some issues with KIN that I've observed from operating there. It is a little isolated from the typical night lighting at airports.
Water on the left, a few isolated light bulbs on the right and approach over water.
For whatever reason, the runway markings always seemed very dim to me at night even when dry. When wet they simply aren't what you'd see at a larger US or European airport when using them for reference.
Even landing 4000' from the approach end, I believe the aircraft should have stopped (not positive on numbers). If it went off the end at 60-80 kts, it's
possible they still would have run off the end even if they touched down perfectly after flying to the GS intercept point (roughly at the 7800' remaining point), flared using Boeing procedures and guidance from the HUD.
Airport maintenance of the runway could be a factor. Were the drains along the runway clear, was the runway inspected for water pooling issues, was the vegetation cut back for water drainage, were there rubber deposits?
Also throw in a few 737 issues. Does the HUD guidance match accepted technique for flare/touch down? Is the aircraft more suspect to hydroplaning issues with a 150 Kt approach speed? Are the performance charts accurate?
Just throwing some other issues out that should also be examined. In no way shape or form giving "but,but,but" excuses for the accident.