According to this article, the FAA may need to modify some emergency procedures if the city of Phoenix allows high rises in the downtown area. As an aviator, I have a couple of opinions about the FAA's concerns with tall buildings in the vicinity of Sky Harbor.1. Let's eliminate a 9/11 scenario. That could happen near or far from an airport.
2. Newsflash: if a commercial airliner loses an engine on takeoff, it is most likely going straight ahead. The pilot will probably not have enough airspeed and/or altitude to make it back around to the runway for a safe landing. If one or more engines are lost during the approach to landing, the pilot will do the best to conserve energy and squeak on a landing.
3. The proposed tall buildings are not in any flightpath. See diagram of one of the most common approaches to PHX.
4. Phoenix enjoys great weather year round. The possibility of an off-course pilot flying into a building in poor visibility is very, very slim.
At 486 feet, the Bank One Center dominates the skyline of downtown's lowrises, but 486 feet is not that tall. There are airports all over the world with large buildings and mountains surrounding them. Check out this shot from Hong Kong. There is no reason to squash downtown development by citing fears of aircraft mishaps.
i cant decide if i like landing on RWY 25L or 26 better. they both have fun routes. if the FAA is so concerned with the "skyscrapers" of phoenix, how did they approve the san diego airport thats on the side of a mountain?
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