If by making several laps around the island, you mean takes off from the separate hydra island, then flies over the main island, and by limited fuel, you mean enough fuel to carry 400 people to guam, and if by crumbling dirt runway, you mean the runway that Jacob forsaw the need for them to make, and the exact location it needed to be, because he knew all along what would happen and wanted to make sure they could leave again?
Seriously, if he just wanted to bring the losties back to the island another crash would have been fine, the people he wanted weren't even in the plane when it came down anyway, the whole purpose of the runway was to allow the plane to leave again.
Kind of sucks to be all the other disposable passengers though.
I wonder what the overall death toll for lost was?
Darma purge, first plane crash, second plane crash, freighter purge, freighter explosion, sub explosion, temple massacre, Widmore missile attack, evil stepmom massacre, various shootouts with the others.
If its not 1000 its got to be close.