A voice of reason, from the same newspaper
No real danger
By CHRISTOPHER MOON
Wednesday, July 9, 2003 - Page A14
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Brampton, Ont. -- Toronto City Centre Airport on the Toronto islands has once again becomes the innocent target of pressure groups and one of their chief spokesmen, columnist John Barber (One More Reason To Get Rid of Island Airport -- July 8).
Seizing on the news of Monday's tragic crash in Lake Ontario of a light airplane piloted by a Chicago lawyer, Mr. Barber acknowledges that the aircraft crashed south of the airport in Lake Ontario, "not, mercifully, just north of it".
The fact is that no flight path goes anywhere over the city north of City Centre Airport. All the flight-path approaches come in over Lake Ontario for safety reasons. In low-visibility conditions, no aircraft is anywhere near the population centres or the skyscrapers in downtown Toronto.
The deaths from a light-plane crash are always tragic for the families involved. Fortunately, because of Canada's rigorous pilot training and air-safety programs, they rarely occur. Even if it had crashed on land, a light plane weighs about the same as a compact car and would cause minimal damage.
It is certainly much safer and more pollution-free to reside near a controlled airport than beside a busy arterial road.
Keeping City Centre Airport is a smart choice, not only for Toronto, but for all of Ontario. It hosts hundreds of air ambulance and emergency flights every year.
Travellers from downtown can reach Montreal, Ottawa, Chicago and New York hours faster than they would travelling through Pearson airport. Toronto City Council understands this and is wisely moving ahead to ensure the airport's future.
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