A great body of research on jet planes explains why they are kept far away from city centers. Check out Ron Jenkins’ presentation of how jets on the island airport would change life on the Waterfront.
First, an ABC on how a jet engine functions:
Large quantities of air are sucked into two 6-foot diameter holes in front of the plane. The air is propelled by spinning fans to mix with fuel, which is ignited to create enough thrust to lift the plane off the ground.
The highly polluted exhaust coming out the back of the plane can travel up to 549 meters (1800 feet) at ground level at great speed – enough to knock over sailboats. With longer runways built into the lake, the extended Marine Exclusion Zones (MEZ) would affect sailboats from Ontario Place to York Quay. That is why airports put up signs like this:
The bird sanctuary adjacent to the island airport poses obvious threats to air traffic. It is home to geese, swans and cormorants that enter the flight path, sometimes in huge migrating flocks. Bird strikes are a real threat to aviation and cause air crashes, such as the plane that went down in the Hudson River in New York.
Allowing the powerful suction of jet engines next to this bird-rich area invites disaster. The alternative is to kill the birds and destroy their habitat to accommodate travelers who won’t go to Pearson to catch a jet plane. Which will it be?
