sensational journalism...

been watching the news since evening..
TIMES NOW has no credibility..

Facts as of now:
1. Runway length was shortened due to maintenance work on runway.
2. DGCA issued notice regarding operations, allowing only small aircraft to take-off or land between 12-6 pm.(providing visibility is 2800mts)
3. Heavy rains and poor visibility coupled with poor ATC decision and poor pilot decision blamed for everything.
4.all 42 souls on board aircraft are safe and sound.

points to ponder:
1. Operations were sanctioned by DGCA. If visibility reported by ATC was within operator minima, ATC and pilot in command were legally entitled to land on the runway.
(so theres no question of poor decision. if all legal parameters were met, as is normally the case)

2.TIMES NOW kept saying, pilot overshot "threshold by 50 mts", thus leading to overshooting the runway. Agreed, when "the shit hits the ceiling", even that 50mts can make a lot of difference. But keep in mind, 50mts is a little less than twice the length of the ATR 72-500(approx 27mts). for all practical purposes, its hardly anything. Most instrument landing systems are configured to make aircraft land at Touch down Zone, which itself is the first 3000ft of the runway..! in other words most aircraft usually touch the runway approx 1000ft off the threshold marking)

3.As per the landing charts issued by the mumbai airport, the landing distance available is 1703mts(during shortened runway ops). Now as per landing charts supplied by ATR, the maximum runway landing distance required for maximum weight and worst possible runway contamination(icing) is 1530mts. For water or slush on runway, it is 1000mts.
In other words, with 32 passengers, the wt of the aircraft was much lower than max, and even with heavy rains, the runway was not tat badly contaminated.HENCE, landing distance required would have been less than 1000mts.
(ALL THE ABOVE IS CALCULATED WITHOUT CONSIDERING REVERSE THRUST, which can effectively reduce landing distance by another 7%)

I fly the ATR for kingfisher, and i have been flying to smaller runways in equally wet conditions.

Journalism, should state facts and possible scenarios.
Not make poorly informed judgements based on rumours from "well informed sources".