Silverhawk, I do agree with you on the interpretation of the word "god" here - however I can not take it that "things will happen now and then".
That's not the way I conduct my flying buisness.
Everything I touch in that aircraft has been proven to work with a probability of failure 10to the -83rd power or something, the takeoff is calculated to a preciscion of single meters os stopmargin, I deal with single kilogramms on my loadsheet (that bag of mail), but landing is still a grey area, and noone is willing to do anything about it.
Every week, just read that aviation herald, at least one overrun is reported. Most of them end like this one, some tires got muddy, everyone disembarks shaken but unharmed. God give it, when it is my time to fall into the trap of the great unknown (of landing performance), that it will have a similar outcome.
But there is still no standard friction testing, no meaningful and mandatory figure to be reported by the airport authorities! And many pilots will refuse to take off into a TS, but I haven't heard many object to a landing in heavy rain. Depending on who you work for, there might not be that many options left ("What, you diverted because it was raining?").
To me, the runway excursion is the biggest safetyconcern to lineoperations today; I would trade my bulletproof door for a precise estimate on brake performance any day.
I am glad the guys of Southwest made it ok. But obviously it was pure luck (or fate, but that would put us back to the top of my post...)