It is entirely possible that somebody at some times said, "Hey, if they lose power, they can steer off the runway." I'm not convinced how good an idea that might have been, but somebody may have proposed it.
About ten years after I left the AF the last tanker that had my name painted on the side of it porpoised on landing. Pilot lost control, ran off the side of the runway. It didn't end well. PAX escaped out the aft hatch, flightcrew perrished in the fire. Fuselage and wings were destroyed.
The timing thing with a MITO takeoff was so that if an airplane aborted they'd run down to the departure end quickly and turn off onto a taxiway. That way they wouldn't get overrun by the trailing aircraft. Guaranteed hot brakes...
