I know nothing of planes. So I have a question, is it possible to put an explosive device some where in a plane that would cause the pilot to lose controls but not blow the plane up?
Yes. Might take more than one device, and maybe not literally an "explosion," but all sorts of sabotage is possible, that results in eventual loss of control.
Picking this incident, this aircraft has deicing systems. Cut air lines or pull the fuse(s) or cut the wires, and no deicing.
JFK older brother Joe killed in remote control plane during WWII
https://io9.gizmodo.com/5985733/the-secret-drone-mission-that-killed-joseph-kennedy-jr
Kennedy was the eldest of nine siblings, and it was assumed he’d eventually take up the family business. However, in 1942 he dropped out of law school to join the U.S. Navy, hoping to become a pilot. In 1943 and 1944 he flew numerous missions in a PB4Y-1 Liberator (the Navy’s designation for the B-24 Liberator), completing two tours of duty. Eligible for stateside duty at that point, he instead volunteered for a secret and incredibly dangerous mission: operating some of the first military drone aircraft.
Drones had been used in World War I, but they were essentially precursors to cruise missiles. They were sent on their way with a target in mind, but there was little or no remote control exerted once the flight began.
Operation Aphrodite was different. The goal was to take B-17 and B-24 bombers that were no longer fit for regular duty, strip out all unnecessary equipment, and load them with several tons of Torpex explosives. The cockpit was fitted with a radio control system and a pair of cameras, one showing the gauges, one the ground below and ahead. Painted yellow or white, the planes would fly at 2,000 feet, controlled by operators in other planes at 20,000 feet. It was hoped that these massive flying bombs could crack the German submarine pens and rocket launch sites that traditional strategic bombing runs were having trouble hitting.
The United States Navy is testing a new system called the ATARI onboard the USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN-72) that allows the Landing Signals Officer (LSO) to take control of an aircraft on approach to the carrier. The Navy has been working on developing the aircraft terminal approach remote inceptor (ATARI), but the system was only tested at sea for the first time this March. Conditions at sea were challenging to say the least.
“I was really impressed with LSO’s ability get me to touch down,” VX-23 test pilot Lt. John Marino, the first naval aviator to land using ATARI, said. “The conditions were really varsity, and it was really impressive the system worked the way it did. On a calm day, it would have been a little bit boring, but this was definitely more challenging.”
It would be much easier to put a device on the plane that released gas that would affect the pilot/crew/passengers. It could kill, sedate, or probably some other things as well.
I know a lot about airplanes. Back in the day airplane control surfaces, like ailerons for rolling the wings, elevator for making the nose go up or down and rudder for making the nose go left or right, were connected to the ‘wheel’ called a yoke (or stick) that the pilot used to fly (control) the flight path of the airplane.
Nowadays, modern transport type aircraft (people haulers) are controlled by servos that make the control surfaces move. These use computers and electronics to translate the pilot’s input on the yoke to control the flight surfaces (ailerons, etc.) movement. How do you kill a modern jet? Possibly take control of the electronics and literally fly it into the ground.
With his 22 ways? There are redundancies built into modern aircraft but they are not foolproof. One could damage electrical equipment, supply systems, fuel systems, or actually damage flight controls from the cockpit all the way to wingtip, rudder, and elevator. The autopilot system could be hacked, the gps signal could be hacked, the aircraft flight software could be hacked.
Change your thinking about modern aircraft, we ain’t in Kansas anymore. A modern airliner is a flying computer with wings and an engine attached. The new Airbus if flown from and to a properly equipped airfield can be programmed and can taxi itself to takeoff from the boarding gate, takeoff, fly enroute ( all altitudes, courses, and speeds entered into the computer) and auto land itself, taxi to the terminal and park all without human intervention.
This technology only costs $$ and the DS does have $$$ to spare!
Is it Friday or Saturday night that’s for fighting? (Bay city Rollers? Anyone?)
With his 22 ways? There are redundancies built into modern aircraft but they are not foolproof. One could damage electrical equipment, supply systems, fuel systems, or actually damage flight controls from the cockpit all the way to wingtip, rudder, and elevator. The autopilot system could be hacked, the gps signal could be hacked, the aircraft flight software could be hacked.
Change your thinking about modern aircraft, we ain’t in Kansas anymore. A modern airliner is a flying computer with wings and an engine attached. The new Airbus if flown from and to a properly equipped airfield can be programmed and can taxi itself to takeoff from the boarding gate, takeoff, fly enroute ( all altitudes, courses, and speeds entered into the computer) and auto land itself, taxi to the terminal and park all without human intervention.
This technology only costs $$ and the DS does have $$$ to spare!
Is it Friday or Saturday night that’s for fighting? (Bay city Rollers? Anyone?)