Originally Posted by
ZimmerFly
... requiring all of the 4000m runway length. I guess an immediate landing at a few tonnes below their actual takeoff weight would have required more than 4000m.
Not necessarily. According to this:
What the Qantas crew had left to fly with - Learmount
the official position is that the crew "modulated braking in order to stop close to emergency services".
If that turns out to be correct (it is still a "leaked" document at the moment), then actual landing distance required could have been much less.