When an airplane falls...?

Question

When you're in airplane accident, does the plane downright stop and fall down, or does it gradually descend at fast speed? Also, is it true people that were on plane that was about to crash have actually peed their pants ?

Answer 1

There is really no short answer to your question. Suffice to say a pilot will do everything humanly possible to put a plane on the ground in one piece. A catastrophic airframe failure (the plane breaks apart and big pieces fall off like wings or tails), a mid-air collision or in some cases a severe control surface failure can cause an aircraft to plummet to the ground but normally the plane glides down in some kind of a controlled fashion.

Accident investigators normally find an aircraft scattered over several acres. We almost never see a big hole where the airplane went straight down into the ground. It does happen but it is unusual.

When an accident is bad enough to cause numerous fatalities, urination and defecation are not uncommon. In fact investigators sometimes wear Bio-Hazard suits.

Although I didn't do many, my last job before retirement required I be trained in aircraft accident investigation. All of my work focused on US Air Force aircraft.

I tried to keep this short and sweet but if you want more detail, contact me through my profile.

Answer 2

Planes don't just fall out of the sky. When they do fall down, there needs to be a cause. Obviously, if the plane falls to pieces in the air (due to explosion or structural damage for example), it just falls down. However, most of the times it's not like that. Even without an engine, they can glide down gradually, but they do not have many options in choosing their landing spots that way. Actually, most airplane accidents are weather related, and are due to mountain obscurations or things like that. The plane itself might not have any problem, hence there is no reason for it to start falling.

About the peeing part, I am not a doctor or anything, but I can imagine that in great stress people do wet their pants inadvertantly.

Answer 3

As long as an aircraft still has all of it's wings attached it is capable of gliding under the pilots control to a safe landing. The only way an aircraft would stop mid-air & fall straight down is if it hit something solid, & rigid in the sky & there was no wind.

Now to satisfy the morbid part of your question. I don't know about the peeing in the pants prior to a crash. But people usually release their bladder, & bowels after their death occurs.

Cheers!

Answer 4

depending on the type of the accident. if a plane loses a wing, it will probably go straight down. but if a plane stalls it will descend gradually at a fast speed. im sure some people have peed their pants before they crash.

Answer 5

There is always going to be some glide angle. It would be highly unlikely for anything to come absolutely straight down. Even a helicopter will glide, as long as the rotor blades stay attached.

I know of people who have peed their pants and WEREN'T about to crash. But then, there may have been other reasons.

Answer 6

An airplane usually glides very gradually from at good gliding speeds from150 knots to 190 knots.

A propeller plane glide speed it much more lower. Say, about 30 to 60 knots.

Answer 7

I think it depends on how much control the pilot has over the aircraft when something happens. If the pilot can control the aircraft, he/she can try to glide the aircraft safely. If the pilot loses control of the aircraft, the descent can be quite rapid.

As for the passengers peeing in their pants, I might have heard that before also. But I wouldn't be surprised. Wouldn't you?

Answer 8

Airplanes do no longer in basic terms "fall" out of the sky. while i become gaining information of to fly, and become working in the direction of "emergency landings", i could scale decrease back the engine to idle. wager what? The plane could start up an prolonged, controlled descent. Or waft in case you want. What generally makes pilots chortle are video clips the place the engine in an plane without notice quits and the suggested plane on the instant assumes a nostril down strategies-set and starts off a howling, skill off dive. Sheer and utter nonsense! placed this form of rubbish out of your head. loosen up. relish the flight. consistent with danger you will like flying plenty which you will additionally circulate get a license.

Answer 9

hi ya.. i saw a doco about a hijacked plane, it was a 747 travelling at cruising speed and ran out of fuel because the hijackers would not let it land, it took a crazy dive, i cant remember the exact figures but it was something like it would drop 1.8km for every 1km forward it travelled, so a jumbo cruises at an alt of about 9km, it wouldnt get to far if its dropping 1.8km for every km forward.... jumbo jets dont glide like other planes, its just the way it is... that why the drop out of the sky if the travel slower than 220km/h.

Answer 10

The plane WILL not fall like a rock. It will start gliding down instead.