burst into flames when they crash land?
2007-11-02 04:31:22 · 9 answers · asked by Anonymous in Cars & Transportation ➔ Aircraft
Two words. Fuel + sparks.
2007-11-02 04:35:03 · answer #1 · answered by pkgfinder 3 · 5⤊ 2⤋
Very simple, the wings of the aircraft are huge fuel tanks where the aircraft fuel is stored.
Once the aircraft crashes definitely there will be sparks as a result of impacts and vigorous frictions and torsions.
In the same time, the wings will be crashed as well spilling it's load of fuel and fuel vapors that will catch the sparks and fire will be ignited without any doubt and the aircraft will be in flames in no time but not necceseraly with burst.
The burst will occure if there were trapped fuel and vapors inside some parts of the fuel tanks (the wings) , where enormous volumes of gases will be created from the burned fuel, and that volume of gas will burst the remaining parts of the wings.
2007-11-02 07:02:22 · answer #2 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 1⤋
They don't always. I've seen some brilliant emergency landings that didn't result in fire or explosions.
Fires, and explosions and fireballs, typically happen because aircraft usually carry most of the usable fuel in their wings. While Jet A and Jet A-1 both have to be heated to over 100 deg. F, or 38 deg C, to put off enough vapor to ignite, 100LL avgas, will put off enough fumes to ignite at -18 deg F.
During crashes, sometimes wing tanks get broken fuel is spilled. Jet engines pumping out 1000 deg F exhaust doesn't help. I've seen a wreck burst into flames 10 min's after the crash when the pilot went back to check his master power switch.
Some do, some don't. And always make sure the ignitors are off before you turn the Master bus on.
JT
2007-11-02 18:39:03 · answer #3 · answered by jettech 4 · 0⤊ 1⤋
The truth is that few airplanes that crash actually do burst into flames. Most people get that impression from watching movies, in which it always happens.
Having said that, a busted-up airplane is always a hazardous item. There can be flammable fuel all around, and various sources of ignition. So call the fire department, even if the wreckage is not burning now.
2007-11-02 08:50:52 · answer #4 · answered by aviophage 7 · 1⤊ 1⤋
they dont all burst into flames when they crash land. the ones that do are often because of the fuel being sparked. You can take a 5 gallon bucket of jet fuel and drop a lit book of matches into it and it wont go up in flames. I work with airplanes and have did that experiment several times. but still all the electical and metal sparks would probably set it off. good question
2007-11-02 05:03:08 · answer #5 · answered by Falcon163 4 · 1⤊ 1⤋
for the same reason why everything that burns does so. Air, Fuel and an Ignition source.
2007-11-03 03:13:59 · answer #6 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
It has to do with movies and cars. If you watch an older movie where the car crashes over a cliff, it will invariable burst into flames.
The movie industry says planes crash and burn, so that's why they do.
It has nothing to do with reality...
:P
2007-11-02 06:01:46 · answer #7 · answered by Donald C 2 · 1⤊ 3⤋
friction, sparks and jet fuel...
In the Navy, we cleaned paint brushes in a mix of jet fuel and paint thinner - the Lieutenant would tell me to lose the cigarette while cleaning...I just tossed it into the cleaning bucket : he went nuts, but you couldn't light that mess with a blowtorch.
2007-11-02 08:44:29 · answer #8 · answered by sirbobby98121 7 · 1⤊ 1⤋
the airlines unanimously agreed to have a built in self-destruct mechanism to kill off the passengers in a crash. this is to limit the payments to $10K max per each occurrence of death. disability will cost 10 x as much or maybe more.
2007-11-02 04:40:14 · answer #9 · answered by Anonymous · 2⤊ 4⤋