Question: If the airspace around centrally located airports were restricted to commercial airliners and only those private planes equipped with radar, most of the private-plane traffic would be forced to use outlying airfields. Such a reduction in the amount of private-plane traffic would reduce the risk of midair collision around the centrally located airports.

The conclusion drawn in the first sentence depends on which of the following assumptions?

(A) Outlying airfields would be as convenient as centrally located airports for most pilots of private planes.
(B) Most outlying airfields are not equipped to handle commercial-airline traffic.
(C) Most private planes that use centrally located airports are not equipped with radar.
(D) Commercial airliners are at greater risk of becoming involved in midair collisions than are private planes.
(E) A reduction in the risk of midair collision would eventually lead to increases in commercial airline traffic.

Correct Answer: C
Explanation: The argument of the passage claims that the airspace near the centrally located airports was limited to commercial airliners. The passage also states that private planes are fitted with radar. If this happens then the maximum private-plane traffic is compelled to utilise outlying airfields. The contraction in the quantity of private-plane traffic would decrease the risk of midair collision near centrally located airports. The author assumes that if the airports don’t let non-radar private planes enter their airspace, most private planes will be prohibited to enter the airspace. This implies that he assumes that maximum private planes do not hold any radar. Therefore, option C is the correct answer since it satisfies the argument of the passage. Let’s take a look at the other options.

Option A

The argument of the passage claims that the airspace near the centrally located airports was limited to commercial airliners. The passage also states that private planes are fitted with radar. If this happens then the maximum private-plane traffic is compelled to utilise outlying airfields. The contraction in the quantity of private-plane traffic would decrease the risk of midair collision near centrally located airports. This answer choice is irrelevant and illogical. The causes for private planes moving to the outlying airfields do not happen due to the convenience of pilots. Hence, option A is the incorrect answer since it does not satisfy the argument of the passage. Thus option A gets eliminated.

Option B

The argument of the passage claims that the airspace near the centrally located airports was limited to commercial airliners. The passage also states that private planes are equipped with radar. If this happens then the maximum private-plane traffic is compelled to utilise outlying airfields. The contraction in the quantity of private-plane traffic would decrease the risk of midair collision near centrally located airports. The answer choice B states that most outlying airfields are not equipped to manage commercial-airline traffic. It depicts the assumption of collision of flights rather than handling. Hence this option is incorrect since it does not satisfy the argument of the passage. Therefore, option B gets eliminated.

Option D

The argument of the passage claims that the airspace near the centrally located airports was limited to commercial airliners. The passage also states that private planes are equipped with radar. If this happens then the maximum private-plane traffic is compelled to utilise outlying airfields. The contraction in the quantity of private-plane traffic would decrease the risk of midair collision near centrally located airports. The answer choice D states that commercial airliners face a great risk in midair collisions rather than private planes. However, the concern of the passage is not to find who is at greater risk. Hence, this option is incorrect since it does not satisfy the argument of the passage. Therefore, option D gets eliminated.

Option E

The argument of the passage claims that the airspace near the centrally located airports was limited to commercial airliners. The passage also states that private planes are equipped with radar. If this happens then the maximum private-plane traffic is compelled to utilise outlying airfields. The contraction in the quantity of private-plane traffic would decrease the risk of midair collision near centrally located airports. This answer choice states that a deduction in the hazard of midair collision would increase the traffic of commercial airlines. This can be considered a good conclusion to the passage. However, it cannot be assumed from the argument of the passage. Hence, this option E is incorrect and thereby gets eliminated.

“If the airspace around centrally located airports were restricted”- is a GMAT critical reasoning topic of the GMAT exam. This question has been taken from the book “GMAT Critical Reasoning”. This GMAT critical comes with five options and candidates need to choose the one which is correct. GMAT critical reasoning section is designed to measure the logical and analytical skills of the candidates.

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