Question about physics and something falling from an airplane?

Question

I was wondering if there is a heavy crate that accidently falls from a high-flying airplane just as it flies directly above a red car parked in a car lot, relative to the car, where will the crate crash?

can someone please explain it in physics concepts? thanks

Answer 1

When the crate leaves the airplane, it is travelling at the same speed as the plane (call it 500 mph).

So if we ignore wind resistance, the crate will continue travelling forward (i.e., the direction the plane is moving) at 500 mph, even while it is being accelerated downward by gravity. So it will land some distance beyond the car. The distance will be determined by how far an object travelling 500 mph can travel in the time it takes to fall from the airplane to the ground.

In practice, wind resistance will slow the crate down from 500 mph, reducing the distance it travels. So the distance we calculated based on a constant forward speed of 500 mph is too large.

But the crate will still miss the car.

Answer 2

There are no survivors!
It will not hit the red car, if the plane is moving , and at any appreciable altitude.
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Answer 3

On the car.