Yesterdays air crash at Canley Vale is certain to renew calls for the closure of Bankstown airport.
The fact that a medical flight carrying an experienced pilot and a flight nurse in a modern aircraft crashed in a heavily populated suburb was certainly a risk to residents, but risk is something that goes with all forms of air travel.
Sydney has three major airports. Kingsford Smith at Mascot, Bankstown and the military airport at Richmond. As a consequence, a range of aircraft from jumbo jets, fighter aircraft and heavy transports - to light planes are in the air above metropolitan Sydney.
It is inevitable that from time to time there will be accidents that kill pilots, other air crew - and residents living below.
Perhaps the only valid complaint is the fact that Bankstown is the major flight training centre for this state - and as a consequence large numbers of light aircraft under the control of trainee pilots are sharing our congested air space.
Common sense dictates that the greatest risk of a crash comes during the training period. There is logic in the demand that pilot training be removed for a densely packed suburb and transferred to an out of town location - where the air space is uncluttered and the ground below is free of homes.
Otherwise, the call to close Bankstown makes no sense at all !
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