Colliding With Death at 37,000 Feet, and Living - NYTimes

[Astronuc]

This is amazing!

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/10/03/business/03road.html

The Brazilian (GOL) airliner which crashed in the Amazon jungle with 155 people hit a private jet at 37,000 ft. The airliner went down quickly, the small private jet landed safely at a military airport hidden deep in the Amazon jungle.

SÃO JOSE DOS CAMPOS, Brazil, Oct. 1 — It had been an uneventful, comfortable flight.

Without warning, I felt a terrific jolt and heard a loud bang, followed by an eerie silence, save for the hum of the engines.

And then the three words I will never forget. “We’ve been hit,” said Henry Yandle, a fellow passenger standing in the aisle near the cockpit of the Embraer Legacy 600 jet.

“Hit? By what?” I wondered. I lifted the shade. The sky was clear; the sun low in the sky. The rainforest went on forever. But there, at the end of the wing, was a jagged ridge, perhaps a foot high, where the five-foot-tall winglet was supposed to be.
...

But at 3:59 last Friday afternoon, all I could see, all I knew, was that part of the wing was gone. And it was clear that the situation was worsening in a hurry. The leading edge of the wing was losing rivets, and starting to peel back.
...

We came down hard and fast. I watched the pilots wrestle the aircraft because so many of their automatic controls were blown. They brought us to a halt with plenty of runway left. We staggered to the exit.

 

[Yonoz]

Have a look at this: "[MEDIA=youtube[/URL].[ATTACH=full]117733[/ATTACH]

 

[Astronuc]

Have a look at this: "[MEDIA=youtube[/URL].[ATTACH=full]117736[/ATTACH][/QUOTE] Crikey! That's bloody impressive!

I think the rear stabilizer has a lot to do with the stability, and the one wing (with both stabilizers) at twice the speed provided sufficient lift. Nevertheless, amazing. It was quick thinking by the pilot to engage the afterburners.

 

[Cyrus]

Too bad the other airplane crashed and killed everyone, but such is life sometimes.

 

[berkeman]

Did they determine the cause of the collision yet? I imagine that out above the Amazon there isn't much in the way of air traffic control -- all VFR? But they still should have been at different altitudes if they were cruising in different directions...

 

[George Jones]

Did they determine the cause of the collision yet? I imagine that out above the Amazon there isn't much in the way of air traffic control -- all VFR? But they still should have been at different altitudes if they were cruising in different directions...

A couple of hours ago, I read an unconfirmed report that the small plane was flying at the wrong altitude, but now I can't find the report.

 

[russ_watters]

Crikey! That's bloody impressive!

I think the rear stabilizer has a lot to do with the stability, and the one wing (with both stabilizers) at twice the speed provided sufficient lift.

The rear stabilizers on military jets can move independently to control roll.

 

[George Jones]

but now I can't find the report.

I found the http://www.680news.com/news/international/article.jsp?content=w100373A" [Broken].

If true, the pilot/instruments of the small plane is responsible for the deaths of 155 people.

 

[Ivan Seeking]

RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil (Reuters) - Brazilian authorities confiscated the passports of two American pilots on Tuesday who were flying a business jet that apparently collided with a commercial airliner that crashed last week deep in the Amazon jungle, killing all 155 people on board. [continued]

http://today.reuters.com/news/articlenews.aspx?type=topNews&storyid=2006-10-04T000641Z_01_N03211999_RTRUKOC_0_US-CRASH-BRAZIL.xml&src=rss

 

[Cyrus]

Crashing from that high up must be awful, because you have so much time before you get back down to Earth from 37,000ft.

If you crash on landing or takeoff, its 1,2,3...dead. Not as bad.

It wouldn't be so bad if you were in the pilots seat, becasue at least you would feel like you tried to save yourself.

 

[shmoe]

The title of this thread reminded me of that poor bird:

Highest Flying Birds
The highest altitude recorded for a bird is 11,300 m. (37,000 ft.), for a Ruppell’s vulture (Gyps rueppellii), which collided with a commercial aircraft over Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire, on November 29, 1973.

http://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/content_pages/record.asp?recordid=51479

the bird didn't survive though.

 

[Yonoz]

I think the rear stabilizer has a lot to do with the stability

Heh.
The F-15 is renowned for the blows it can take. The F-16, on the other hand, has its center of mass in front of its center of lift, and is literally flown by a computer, meaning that any serious change in the plane's characteristics will immediately lead to an uncontrollable downward spin.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/F-16#Fly_by_wire" and has no mechanical linkages between the control stick and the flight surfaces. Computer control is necessary for flight as a result of the inherent negative stability of the aircraft, a trait which trades stable flight for increased maneuverability.

I really like all those stories of B-17 Flying Fortresses returning with no tail etc.