aterpster, my points are:
- the Congonhas crash is not a good example of a short runway contributing much to the crash — it was the no.2 engine left in the CL detente that pulled the aircraft off the runway. A very similar crash happened in Irkutsk on a runway twice as long, in a much better weather and in a much more forgiving terrain. Besides, I couldn't find any indication in the Congonhas report that the aircraft overshoot the touchdown zone.
- The overrun crashes I mentioned illustrate that even long runways and very flat terrain are not much of a help when the aircraft significantly overshoots the touchdown zone.
It's the same old moral — good skills and airmanship are much more important than peculiarities of a particular airfield.