La Tercera, September 14, 2019
The
crash of a FACH aircraft last weekend leads me to the following
reflections:
- While it is not ideal for airports to be surrounded by residential or commercial areas, we must remember that the runway at the Bosque airbase has existed since 1913, and I do not believe that the originally named “Campos de lo Espejo” were placed in the middle of an inhabited municipality.
- This leads me to think that not all responsibility for the damages caused lies with the FACH, nor should FACH personnel be solely responsible for addressing all the consequences of the crash of one of their aircraft. Clearly, there are responsibilities on the part of the State and the municipalities in this situation.
- If FACH personnel are assisting those affected by this accident, it is because they are well-born and noble at heart, but it is not something they are obligated to do. The FACH is a State institution, and it is the State that must take responsibility for the solution.
- I hope that the new runway located in Colina is not surrounded by housing developments as happened to the Aviation School, the Quintero airbase, the Tobalaba aerodrome, and the Lo Curro aerodrome, as otherwise this will be a never-ending story. Prior to this incident, there had already been crashes of private aircraft at the last two mentioned aerodromes.
Richard Kouyoumdjian
Vice President AthenaLab
