Was it a case of microburst?

Dubai: A series of errors having nothing to do with the safety or length of the Mangalore runway could have caused the fatal crash of the Air India Express Boeing 737-800 and the death of 158 passengers and crew as it flew in from Dubai on Saturday morning.
The most valid scenario at this stage is the aircraft hitting a microburst (extremely powerful gust of wind) which often results in a sudden lift in airspeed or what is known as a spike. This would account for the wasted 2,000 feet of runway as the pilot battled with the unexpected development and the plane surged forward with extra buoyancy. If the pilot had then come out of the localised air disturbance there is an equally sudden drop in lift and the aircraft can drop without warning onto the runway. This ‘hard landing’ could then be the reason for the burst tyre and the loud bang that was heard by survivors.
According to Captain Shailendra Singh, president of the Indian Commercial Pilots Association (ICPA), the 8,000 feet of runway is more than adequate for a 737 to land and there is no need to even consider that as a factor. Talking to Khaleej Times, he said, “Every pilot is trained to react to these situations and we practise them ?on the simulator.”
However, in an emergency, every individual responds differently. If the plane had sloughed off out of control because of some unknown input or aquaplaned as a result of waterlogging (the skimming stone effect), the brakes might have been rendered ineffective.
23/05/10 Bikram Vohra/Khaleej Times

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