Ahmedabad Plane Crash: Why Are the Airport and Hospital Side by Side?
Questioner: Sir, where the accident happened, there is a hospital next to the airport. Why was it there? Is that allowed? Or if there wasn't a hospital, then?
Acharya Prashant: That's a good question. But we don't ask such fundamental questions, do we? We will discuss a lot of other things. Why did the dual engine failure happen? We will talk about conspiracy theory. But a very small and a very direct question that we will not ask is: why is there a hospital next to the airport?
In any country in the world, even in India too, it is not even allowed to have a hospital starting right at the boundary wall of the airport. The risk to the hospital of being next to the airport — it's a very obvious thing, right?
Even normally, if there is a hospital, there is a sign that says: “Hospital! Do Not Honk, please do not make noise here, there are patients.”
Questioner: Go slowly.
Acharya Prashant: Yes, and drive slowly. You know, an aircraft when it is taking off or landing, it creates noise between 120 and 150 dB. And for a hospital, any sound above 50 to 60 dB is unacceptable, intolerable. It poses various kinds of dangers.
There is precision surgery happening there — it will get disturbed. There is critical communication happening during the surgery — it will get disturbed. There are pediatric wards with small children — they will get disturbed. There are geriatric wards with elderly people — they will get disturbed. There are psychiatric patients who should not hear such loud noises — they will get disturbed. Even an ordinary patient's sleep will be ruined.
In well-developed cities, there, over the cities, a nighttime curfew is imposed on flights. In places like Frankfurt, residential areas have a nighttime curfew for flights so that people's sleep is not disturbed.
And think — the hospital is built right next to the airport, so there must be terrible noise there. It happens so quickly, repeatedly, with such frequency. And noise pollution is not the only problem for the hospital if it is built next to the airport. There's air pollution too. When there is an aircraft, and when it is taking off — that is when it consumes the most fuel. So PM2.5, PM10, and nitrogen dioxide — all this is emitted by it at that very moment. And these are all the particles that should not reach the hospital.
The CT scan and MRI machines you have — they are super sensitive. If the vibration from airplanes reaches them, these machines can give wrong outputs. Not only that, these machines will have to be recalibrated repeatedly. So having an airport near the hospital is very dangerous.
Eighty percent of airplane crashes, which are the most frequent, happen during takeoff or during landing. The 3-minute period after takeoff is very critical. Similarly, the 8-minute period before landing is also very critical. During that period, the airplane should be kept as far away from residential areas as possible.
But our planning is such, and our methods are such, that where we have the airport, we have also set up hospitals. We have also created residential areas. Not only this, but the runway also — especially in Ahmedabad — there are residential complexes directly in line with the airport. Now, when the plane lands, it lands in line with the runway. And when it takes off, it flies in line with the runway. And right below, buildings have been constructed. And how big a danger this is.
The first question that should be raised is that there should not be any residential complexes there. Where did the hospital come from when the hospital is supposed to be a super sensitive place? It is not allowed anywhere in the world. The concentration of PM2.5 is very high near airports. In hospitals, it is not even acceptable. But we never — we do not talk about them.
Questioner: The thought comes that had there been no hospital and everything was made strictly according to the rule book, then would the severity — the full severity of this accident... would that be less?
Acharya Prashant: Severity could have been reduced. We cannot say that in an accident there would have been no deaths or fatalities. However, yes, many more lives could have been saved.
Look, when an aircraft's engine fails, it becomes a glider, right? It didn't get hit by any missile. There's no explosion in it. It just doesn't have power. So, it's gliding in the air. It can still land safely. And that's why there are rules worldwide to keep the population away and leave empty space around airports.
As in Singapore, there is a rule to keep an empty space up to 3 kilometers away from the airport. Most developed countries in the world either create a free zone around their airports, or they create green zones but do not allow people to settle. If the plane is gliding and finds an empty space, it can land relatively safely there. But if the plane is gliding and there is a building right in front of the airport, where will it land?
We all know about the “Miracle on the Hudson.” The movie Sully also came out in 2016. So there was a dual engine failure because of a bird hit. So they went and landed the plane on the Hudson River, right? Because that empty space was available first. It could be landed there. If you do not leave any empty space near the airport, then how will it land?
And the plane — forget the river — can even land on the road like the Yamuna Expressway, you know. It can also be used to land a fighter plane and many times we have seen that preparations are being made there. You can call it a kind of practice that if normal airfields are bombed and the runways are damaged, then your fighter jets will land directly on the expressway. The runway is a kind of road after all. It is a specialized road, but still a road.
Or even if some empty space is available like a grass field or just a dirt field or even a farm — anything that is flat and level — an attempt can be made to land the plane there. Some lives might be lost or injuries might occur in that too. But it won't be that all the people will be killed.
But you will settle a dense population around the airport, and you are settling a dense population right where the chances of a crash are the highest — then you are playing with death. Do not think of the plane as it crashed only because its engine failed. You also need to add to it that it crashed, because there was no place to land it. It's slightly elevated and after that there are huge concrete structures standing there. Where should it land? There are residential buildings right in line with the runway. So where will the plane land?
And this is not an unknown risk factor. It is a very well-known and researched risk factor that when a plane takes off, many kinds of issues can arise. It is the most critical moment for the plane, when it is taking off. Even after that, if we allow such construction there, then we are constructing something as sensitive as a hospital right next to the airport — then only God can help.
Not only that, but when the plane is taking off, it also has the most fuel. It's a kind of flying bomb with 200–400 people sitting in it and with 100,000–150,000 liters of fuel filled. It's a bomb. You are sitting above so much fuel just as the plane is taking off.
The biggest accident in aviation history so far—do you know where it happened? It happened at the airport. There was a KLM aircraft. It was the accident of 1977. A KLM aircraft had just refueled, and there was a Pan Am airplane. Both were on the same runway. There was a lot of fog. Visibility was poor. The KLM plane attempted to take off without ATC approval and collided with the Pan Am airplane. He saw at the end that it’s there. He even tried to lift, but the weight of the fuel is so much — because he just filled fuel at the airport. The weight of the fuel is so much that he couldn't lift it.
And since there is so much fuel, when it collided, it became a bomb and it took the lives of around 500 to 600 people. This is the biggest accident to date. During takeoff, the fuel is highest, and that very fuel becomes a bomb. And that is the time when the engine needs the most lift, and any fault can occur. That is the time when a bird hit can happen. There are so many risk factors during takeoff.
And if we build a hospital there, then now it means — just think — so many lives were lost in what is today's world's biggest aviation tragedy. It did not happen in the sky. It happened at the airport. And it happened at the airport because one major reason is that takeoff is the most dangerous point.
Questioner: Sir, when I was in college, the city's airport was approximately 10 to 12 km away. Still, there was a lot of disturbance, because of the airport. Because of frequent flights, there was noise, and I mean, there was a disturbance even during classes — when it is 10 to 12 kilometers away.
Acharya Prashant: 10 to 12 kilometers is quite fortunate. When a jumbo jet like a Dreamliner takes off, the sound it makes when it is rising up, taking off — it is compared to one moment of a rock concert. You're standing right in front of the speaker. The sound is so loud — like that of a jackhammer, an industrial one. That's how intense the volume is. And that loud sound of it — it is being played to the patients of a hospital. So what would be the condition of that hospital? Only God knows.
And this thing is not found in other countries of the world. It is very clear there that an airport is a very sensitive area and a vulnerable place in many ways. Terrorist attacks also happen more at airports. Pollution is also higher at airports. The risk of crash is also higher at airports. There is a lot of traffic and activity at airports. So whether it is residential places, schools, colleges, or hospitals, keep them away from airports.
All countries in the world take this much care. This thing can only be found in India—that there's an airport and right next to the airport there are buildings, and the children living in those buildings, have a pastime of climbing onto the roof, and they feel like the plane is going right over their heads, and they can even read what's written on the plane. And it has become a daily routine for them — that the sound of 120 to 150 dB is hitting their ears all day and all night, whether they need to study, to sleep, or need some peace and quiet. This all happens only in India. We accept it. Which wall is being lifted? No one.
Questioner: Sir. So why does this happen here?
Acharya Prashant: Look —
Poverty and population. This eats away at a person's self-respect.
Otherwise, the people who are living right next to the airport, what they're seeing and more so hearing is also giving them a sense of the consequences of where they've ended up stuck. Every 2 minutes, a deafening flight screams right over their heads, and there's pollution of a hundred different kinds. But what can we do?
Corruption in government departments is so high that this way construction gets an NOC. Otherwise, there are AAI and DGCA norms that such things should not happen. Building a residential complex near the airport should be nearly impossible — and a hospital, not at all. But still, such constructions continue. Even tall buildings are constructed near the airport.
I think in Kolkata currently, 500 such buildings have been found that are very close to the airport and are also quite tall, and it's a major safety risk. So after all this, it happens because when it comes down to survival — you see now there are so many people, and the resources are limited. Land is one of those resources. You've become 1.5 billion people, but the land is limited. So what will you do?
Then you're left with no choice. Whatever you get, however much you get, wherever you get it — you just learn to tolerate it. It happens. A lot of corruption also occurs due to the lack of resources, right? Every person is living with the feeling that they have fewer resources, and there are too many people. The population is too much. There are too many members even in the house.
So then a person learns to endure settling anywhere. They have to — it becomes a necessity. A person endures getting treatment anywhere. A person endures committing any kind of corruption by taking bribes.
Self-respect gets eaten up by overpopulation, by poverty.
Until the time we keep following our old ways, if we will not understand that living rightly with dignity is more important than any other consideration — until then, our safety, our self-esteem, we will keep tolerating, selling everything.
Questioner: Sir, we only feel that this accident is an isolated thing. But as it is now understood — that everything is connected to each other.
Acharya Prashant: Everything is connected to another thing — and that's why, if you conduct a very isolated analysis, it will not provide you with any solution. You will not even reach the root cause.
It's like such a thing that if the fruit is rotten, your entire analysis is confined to just the branch where the fruit is. If the fruit is rotten, what will you gain by analyzing only the branch? You will have to go to the root, right? Only then will something be revealed. You will have to go to the soil — only then will something be known.
Whenever we find any of our fruits, if it turns out to be rotten, we do a lot of analysis — sometimes just of the branch, and often not even that — only of the fruit itself, assuming there must be a flaw in the fruit. The roots are flawed. The soil is flawed. The roots need to be strengthened. The soil needs cleaning and nourishment. Only then will fresh, clean, beautiful fruits start growing in this country.
Otherwise, we will just keep thinking — that was the problem, this was the cause, and that was another problem. Its cause was different. And the third problem had a third cause. Now all the accidents that happen in our country, all the problems that occur — there are some common shared reasons for all of them. But we do not want to look toward those shared reasons because the connection of those reasons are from our hearts, from our beliefs, from our traditions.
We have given too much respect to many worthless things, and we do not want to challenge them. Those same worthless things are the cause of all our problems.
Whether it is an aircraft accident or some other disruption growing in society, or it is electoral fraud or an economic flaw. Whether it's about why you don't win medals in the Olympics? Or why can't you innovate in science? Or why are your arts falling behind? Where are your patents? Where are your trademarks? Why don't you have a place in AI?
All the problems facing the country — these are not separate problems. They all have some root causes, but our country is avoiding looking at those root causes. Because those fundamental problems have become very respectable things for us.
And until we — if we do not face the real problem, do not challenge it — then how will the problem be resolved? We start finding solutions without understanding the problem. So what will happen then? Yes, you will manage some superficial treatment. That superficial treatment will help a little, but you will be under the illusion that you have truly treated it. However, you have not treated it. You stop the problem on one side — it will stand up on the other side until you identify the root cause of that problem and treat it.
The biggest problem is that we do not want to understand things. So for us, more than wisdom, it is our prejudice — our belief. If we see that if we understand something, then some belief or conviction of ours will break. So we refuse to understand beforehand.
We see that if we delve even a little into the depth of the matter, then the matter to us — if it takes us to some uncomfortable point — we don't even let that discussion begin. We have done this, and for this reason, our problems are increasing, and we are unable to find a final solution to any problem.
This country needs courage, needs truth. This country will have to develop the habit of living with wisdom. We have developed the habit of living in emotions. For us, emotions have become very important. Whatever the fact may be, whatever the reality may be, we say, "Sir, we are emotional people." We do not even understand what emotion is.
Can't you see how much coverage this plane crash is getting in the media and social media right now? It's not just reporting — emotions are flowing. The poor relatives of the deceased are being followed, and their footage is being shown, saying, "Look, this is the mother of the deceased and how she is crying. These are the children of the deceased. This is the wife. Look at their terrible condition."
All this is happening. But who really wants to understand why the accident occurred and what the root causes are? Rather, people are coming up with false reasons. There was someone saying at one place that maybe the people flying the plane were suicidal. What an insulting thing to say. Some are speculating various kinds of conspiracies — someone saying one thing, someone another.
A human is one who is curious and seeks to understand. What is the difference between someone who cannot inquire, who cannot understand, and an animal? How can someone who is a slave to their emotions, opinions, and prejudices call themselves human? What kind of person is someone who is afraid of questions?
Our country needs a very, very fundamental and deeply spiritual revolution. And by spiritual, I mean love for truth.
We must teach our children in upbringing, schools, and colleges that nothing is greater than the truth. None of your concerns or self-interests is greater than the truth.
