Despite it's challenges Kai Tak had a remarkably good safety record. Perhaps this had something to do with the amount of manual flying that was encouraged in that era?
I remember talking to a Qantas pilot in the 80's who said that the safest place to land in a Qantas plane was Kai Tak - because the most practised sim. landing was a night landing at Kai Tak. They could do it in their sleep!
And I still remember that fun right turn at the checker-board on the hill, and peering down the wing into the apartments. Not so fun was one landing when at around 100 ft the air conditioning sucked in that sweet smell of sewage. For some reason it was particularly bad that day. Yuk!