While I share everyones concern about air traffic in Horsham, the scare tactics I have seen on another website opposing the runway due to air crashes are not logical. If I used the same logic and applied it to other forms of transportation I would have banned cars long ago due to the amount of accidents and rescues I have been witness to in our area. I have a genuine concern which many have overlooked.
Other than ONE landing strip at Philly International, the strip in Horsham is the longest one in the area. With the world in the state it is in, Philadelphia and our nuclear facility in Limerick are terrorist targets just like New York City. In addition to the terrorist threat there is the threat from mother nature as well. We have seen devestating quakes and tsunamis all over the world. Our landing strip is 335 ft. above sea level while PHI is only 36 ft. above sea level. Should we have a major flooding issue in Philly, the airport is useless due to the low level it sits. The base/strip in Horsham is a currently built support system which is currently set up to handle any crisis in our area. I believe we should move all Philly area based National Guard units onto the base, keep the landing strip as a Strategic Emergency and Limited Use Runway. Corporate jets which were suggested by other persons do not make that much noise and do not take off around the clock. A contract could contain the limited use language for the runway including which type of aircraft for civilian use and hours of flight into and out of the base runway. This contract could also specify that NO jets be diverted from Philly International in an emergency as there are other airports in the area which these jets are currently supporting that function.
