I feel very bad for the loss of lives involved in this accident.
touching down just past the midfield taxiway turnoff. Knowing the midfield turnoff I described, as well as the overall runway length, one can deduce that there wasn't much runway remaining. Realizing this too, the pilot of 1243U elected to perform a go-around vice trying to stop on the remaining runway, a prudent decision.
I don't mean to be negative in any way, but here's my take. The runway is 3,500 feet long (only 2400 to land on). The midfield taxiway would be at the exactly 1500 feet down the runway, and with 1500 more feet to go. She touched down at "just past the midfield taxiway turnoff." It's hard to say what "just past" means, but say, I guess an assumption of about 200-300 feet down past the midfield turnoff is probably close estimate.
So, at the time she landed (all wheels on the ground), just past the midfield taxiway intersection, she still had about 1200 feet remaining to stop. The winds were light and variable, and I'm assuming a dry runway.
Just from personal experience in the same model Cessna, once you get down on the ground, and apply the brakes (especially if you apply them immediately after landing because you're running out of runway), I don't see why you can't stop within 1200 feet.
The article says it was a a prudent decision to go around with 1000 or 1200 feet left to go. I don't know about that.
But in that case, I think I'd rather just hit the brakes and hope to stop, worse case, you'd go off the end of the runway at a very slow speed. If you risk the go around, from all wheels on the ground, with only 1000 feet to go, you now risk hitting trees (or whatever else is beyond the runway) at 55-65+ knots.
All that having been said, I think every pilot should have a personal limit that they set on when to go around if your wheels haven't already touched the runway.
At any time your approach is unstable, you're not lined up with the runway, and it doesn't feel right, go around.
But besides that, here's what I like to do. Whenever I fly into any airport, as part of my preflight process, I'll look at the runway layout and note taxiways around it. I'll pick a "point", most of the time that point is usually a taxiway turnoff. I'll say to myself that if I haven't landed (for ANY reason) by the time I cross that "point" i picked out, then no matter what, I WILL go around.
For example at airport X, on a 4000 foot runway, there is a taxiway turnoff at exactly midway down the runway. I will pick that point as the worse case scenario as to when I should be touched down with all wheels on the ground. If for any reason, I'm still airborne at that taxiway turnoff point, I will go around. What if I touch down at exactly the taxiway turnoff point, with 2000 feet left to go? My personal rule is to get on the brake, and stop. No touch and go.
These rules of mine are for single engine planes like C152,172, and the Cherokee. Of course, for bigger, faster planes, I would change the safety windows to account for the faster speeds, etc.
Anyway, the point is, establish your own safety windows. Also, practice go arounds every once in a while. Carb heat off and flaps up (to a respective setting) should not be forgotten.
