Cases of aircraft accidents have raised a lot of attention in the society. This is mainly because aircraft accidents are always fatal (Gabler 2007, p. 27). According to this scholar, cases of aircraft accidents are rare as compared to the accidents caused by other means of transport.
However, the magnitude of such accidents is always overwhelming. This scholar notes that investigation into aircraft accidents have pointed to many reasons that could be possible causes of aircraft accidents such as poor geographic location of the airport (Stekel 2010, p. 87).
In the United States and Australia, cases of aircraft accidents have reduced due to the effort that has been put by the authorities in the aviation sector.
However, these cases do occur, and when they do, the impact is always overwhelming. Although majority of the accidents are always due to bad weather and mechanical failures of the engines, there are cases where such accidents are caused by airport geographic.
According to Gabler (2007, p. 92), all of the airports in the United States have been built as per the standards of IATA and other regulatory agencies. However, cases of accidents taking place due to poor geography of the airports have been witnessed in both the United States and Australia.
According to Gabler (2007, p. 38), the Royal Australian Air Force which was coming from Lae to Port Moresby, Australia crashed due to poor geographic location of the airport. There was a rugged mountain a few miles from the airport.
When the plane was just about to gain height, it crashed into the hilly side, killing all the 28 passengers and 2 pilots on board. The incident is directly attributed to poor geographic location of the airport.
According to Gabler (2007, p.), one of the main regulatory policies of IATA is that an airport should not be located in an area that is close to the mountains. The incident was as a direct effect of violation of this regulation.
Colgan Air Flight 3407 was another case of poor geography of the airport. In this accident, when the plane was making an effort to land, it rammed into a three storey building which was close to the airport. According to the aviation standards worldwide, tall buildings are not supposed to be close to the airports.
Their locations render the airport poor in geography. In this accident, all the nine people on board of this ill-fated plane perished.
In Australia, several incidents have been reported of plane crash due to poor geographic location. There are always issues raised in regard to the condition of some of the airports in this country (Stekel 2010, p. 76). Cases of damaged runways have always been addressed by various agents of the government.
However, there are some issues that may be beyond the capacity of these agents. According to Gabler (2007, p. 115), some of the airports in this country are too close to mountains. This has resulted in various incidents and accidents involving planes that try to scale heights.
Others were involved in accidents due to the location of the airports. According to Gabler (2007, p. 98), accidents caused by the location of the airports are on the decline in both, the United States and Australia.
In both countries, the governments have made laws on how to regulate such cases. Various authorities have embarked on ensuring that locations of the airports are safe for the planes to take off or land.
Reference
Gabler, R 2007, Essentials of physical geography of airports, Thomson Brooks, Belmont.
Stekel, P 2010, Final Flight: The Mystery of a WW II Plane Crash and the Frozen Airmen in the High Sierra, Menasha Ridge Press, New York.