Crash revives concerns airport is too close to city centre
Location of airport still controversial, while aircraft had a history of engine problems
Taiwanese media yesterday voiced safety concerns over the location of the small airport from which TransAsia Airways Flight GE235 departed, as the authorities continued to try to piece together what went wrong.
The crash reignited a decade-long debate over the location of Taipei Songshan Airport.
"While the location itself might not have had anything to do with the crash, in the event of a crash - as was the case yesterday - the location of the airport certainly was a key factor in the scale of the resulting casualties and collateral damage," an editorial in the English-language Taipei Times said.
The single-runway airport is about 3km from the heart of the city, whereas Taoyuan International Airport is 32km to the west of Taipei.
Several mayoral candidates have proposed relocating Songshan airport outside the city due to safety concerns, aircraft noise and restrictions on urban planning, but all proposals have been deferred.
Kuomintang legislator Luo Shu-lei told the United Daily News that Songshan was the world's "most dangerous airport", and should be closed.
She has also questioned the safety and security of the aircraft using the airport.