I am writing with regards to the letter ( 'Disaster in the making' Guardian, October 4), and I am surprised by M Riley's comments.

I have no vested interest in Heathrow and yes, aircraft do fly over my house.

Surely, it must be realised that current take-off and climb procedures result in keeping noise to a minimum and therefore limit, as far as possible, the effect on residents.

If the CAA, in the light of a potential terrorist threat, ordered all aircraft to climb as quickly as possible, I dare say the content of the HACAN letter would have been somewhat different, perhaps along the lines of 'terrorist threat leads to noisier aircraft in the UK'.

Let's hope it never happens but if an explosion caused an aircraft to come down over a populated area, the footprint of destruction would be much greater if the aircraft was, for example, at twice the height compared to current practice.

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