Why can the military drop a heavy a$$ tank weighing 8 tons I think out of a plane, go fight wars with it , but no one can find a way to make a cock pit for commercial jet liners that if anything happens the cock pit with passangers and crew would eject 1 or 2 big parachutes come out and the whole thing just floats back down to earth, that way every one lives and the air lines wouldnt get sued as much.If i knew anything about jets and parachutes i think i would be rich by now dont you?
2006-06-19 06:07:22 · 11 answers · asked by apache672004 4 in Science & Mathematics ➔ Engineering
In fact, just such a system as you have described has been designed. I saw it featured in Popular Science many years ago.
Problem is, that it would be extremely expensive and prohibitively heavy. The added expense, AND the added weight would have to translate into much much higher ticket prices.
You may argue that safety is a worth any price. But, when you consider that millions of passengers arrive safely, without incident, compared to the relatively few who are involved in plane crashes, even you might not think it worth a ten fold increase in ticket prices.
2006-06-19 06:19:26 · answer #1 · answered by Vince M 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
A 747-400 has a take off weight of about 455 tons; a great deal more than an 8 ton tank. No one parachute could likely handle the weight and a system of many chutes would be highly complex to deploy; especially at jet speeds. Adding such a feature to the plane would increase its weight and actually add risk to any flight that was not having a problem. Any accidental deployment would be tragic for everyone except the lawyers. Aviation strives to learn from all accidents/incidents and modifies planes, procedures and training to improve safety. The pilots are also passengers inside the crafts.
2006-06-19 15:39:18 · answer #2 · answered by Kes 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
A tank is made of heavy armor. An airplane is made of thin, light aluminum. There is no way the frame of an airplane could handle the forces generated if a shute deployed while the plane was cruising at 475 mph.
Why not ejection seats for all? The dollars per seat on every aircraft flying would be more expensive than the occasional plane crash. Your life does have a finite value.
2006-06-19 06:15:13 · answer #3 · answered by jerr_jager2001 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
At about 12 AM EST a small Cesna XLS jet crashed into hill numerous miles north of Wellington, New Zealand. All twelve passengers, which includes dad-stars Joe, Nick, and Kevin Jonas, are presumed lifeless. information stay scarce, on a similar time as rescue crews have moved into the crash web site to brush the nation-state for survivors. No authentic statement from the Jonas relations has been released.
2016-10-14 07:35:36 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
The system you describe is called a BRS (Ballistic Recovery System) and they are available for ultralights and small aircraft. They have been designed for airliners, but the strength of materials required is exponentially greater for a plane traveling at 600 mph and weighing several tons. Designs are available, but the cost of the systems is more than the airlines think your life is worth.
It is far cheaper for them to pay your heirs $50,000 or $100,000 for the occasional 100% fatality crash than it would be for them to install BRS in all their aircraft and STILL get sued by the survivors of the 5 or 10% who would still perish in a crash, not to mention the suits of the 90 or 95% who suffered "trauma" as a result of having their lives saved.
Bottom line, most people die in air crashes because of lawyers.
2006-06-19 07:13:36 · answer #5 · answered by Grendle 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
It's not that simple. If a large parachute just pops out of a 747 it's still going to have a very hard landing. A lot of people would probably still die.
2006-06-19 18:26:42 · answer #6 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
At the speeds a jet travels any attempt to deploy a parachute would shred it
2006-06-19 06:12:10 · answer #7 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Well, first of all more people die in car accidents than in plane crashes. For the most part planes are a pretty safe mode of transportation.
2006-06-19 06:11:57 · answer #8 · answered by lynda_is 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
also consider the bitterly cold temperature at 30,000 feet. The water in your lungs would probably crystalize instantaneously. while military pilots typically have flight suits and oxygen masks, commercial flight passengers typically do not.
2006-06-20 01:29:10 · answer #9 · answered by drliebe2006 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
They do not die in the crash. They die from the sudden stop!
2006-06-19 06:28:38 · answer #10 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋