More.
I used to live near Bankstown Aerodrome. Planes take off there every 30 seconds.
Derek Darlow, a former mechanical engineer at Hoxton Park Airport, which closed this Monday, said that the planes were probably coming in to land at Bankstown Airport.
"There is an inbound reporting point in Prestons, which planes have to pass over before they land at Bankstown Airport and the planes were probably passing over that when they clipped each other,'' Mr Darlow said.
"Now that they've closed Hoxton Park Airport, there are fewer places for these planes to land and this sort of thing will be happening more and more often.''
The two planes involved, according to Bankstown flight school operators, were a Liberty and a Cessna 152.
6 comments:
Why am I hoping Saint isn't a pilot...oh, yeah, Dogfight at Bankstown. Since I know NOTHING of why he calls his blog that OR the area called Bankstown (it IS an area, isn't it?), not to mention what he looks like or his name, wondering is about all I can manage right now.
Here you go, kc:
http://www.bankstown.nsw.gov.au/
I'm not sure what saint does.
It surprises me that there have not been more collisions at Bankstown. I operated out of that airfield only once in 33 years of flying. Whenever I think of that trip, the acronym SABENA* comes to mind.
To give you some idea of what it was like for a pilot accustomed to positive separation at controlled airports, imagine a hundred flies in a jam-jar flying round in circles trying to miss one another.
Could that explain Saint's nic?
Unless things have changed since my time, "Dogfight at Bankstown" aptly describes the circuit traffic.
*Such a bloody experience — never again!
Thanks for the email, Kae - didn't know how much it was on my mind till I read that & almost cried!!! WTF?!?!?
Hubby flew a 152 as a jump plane just before he went to boot camp. My brother solo'ed in one in the early 70's. Dad had a Cessna once but it was a 172.
Anyway, thanks again.
One of my instructors a while back pointed out the highest-risk areas in which to fly:
- Around navigational aids
- Around airports
- Over scenic spots on the ground
Time to wake up and pay more attention than usual; there's a lot of air out there, but the airplanes, they are not evenly distributed therein.
Bless you all, yes my blog name is a reference to flying at Bankstown (and I do fly a lot, but sadly only as a passenger) and I do live near an airport but not in Sydney.
I am well. This is a tragedy.
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