[democratslayer]

>>Unless you hit a critical component, it is very unlikely >>it would cause the airliner to crash.
>>You could be on the plane, and fire bullets all around >>you, and not cause the plane to crash.

!!!WRONG!!! DEPENDS ON THE ALTITUDE OF THE AIRCRAFT.

Physics 101: the higher the altitude, the lower the
atmospheric pressure. That is why aircraft cabins are
PRESSURIZED. A typical 737 flies at 30,000+ ft, you need
oxygen masks at 15,000 ft. If the fuselage is punctured
while pressurized at altitude, everybody inside the cabin
will be killed either by lack of oxygen, or most likely,
by being extruded through the decompression hole.

Same reason shaving cream shoots out of a can, it's
pressurized....

[UCANSEE2]

WRONG. Very strong word.

If the airliner was at FL30 and the cabin depressurized, the passengers might die, the pilot would probably get his mask on and land the plane safely. So, a crash is not certain.

Anyone that could hit an airliner at 30,000 feet with a .50, again, deserves a MARKSMANSHIP AWARD.

[RKV]

Horse manure. NOBODY is going to get extruded from a hole made by a bullet at 30000 feet - that is a myth. Put down the comics and do some research.

[bruoz]

"A typical 737 flies at 30,000+ ft, you need oxygen masks at 15,000 ft. If the fuselage is punctured while pressurized at altitude, everybody inside the cabin will be killed either by lack of oxygen, or most likely, by being extruded through the decompression hole."

Your typical .50 BMG round fired from the groung is going to come up a little short don't you think?

[pop-aye]

"!!!WRONG!!! DEPENDS ON THE ALTITUDE OF THE AIRCRAFT.
Physics 101: ...."

IIRC, the pressurization system of a commercial aircraft would be more than adequate to maintain the pressure drop caused by two 50 caliber penetrations (picture a bb going through both sides of a beer can). It would be able to automatically compensate with no noticible drop to cabin pressure.

If a window was destroyed you may get a pressure drop high enough to cause the deployment of masks, but that is what they are designed for. Even the failure of a window would probably not cause catastrophic failure of the aircraft as a whole, nor would it in all probability kill the majority of passengers/crew.

As far as the probability of a terrorist being able to hit a 737 at 30,000? A .50 caliber projectile fired at a target that is up to 30,000 feet away and that is moving as fast as a 737? I can't see it happening.

The M107 .50 Caliber Long Range Sniper Rifle (LRSR) or even the Barrett (what a fun toy that would be!) has an effective range of 6,000 feet. So, even at double the effective range of the weapon, from ground level in Denver @ +- 5,000 Feet, a plane flying at 30,000 feet would still be 13,000 feet beyond the reach of the weapon. Or to put it another way, if it were in range, it would be below (or close to below) the oxy mask requirement.

Test your theories prior to telling someone that they are !!!WRONG!!!. As someone said, it is better to keep your mouth shut and be thought a fool than to open it and remove all doubt.

[DuncanWaring]

By your logic, all passengers on the Aloha Airlines 737 that grew a sunroof at 19000 ft would have been killed.

Didn't exactly turn out that way.

[antiantiamericans]

" !!!WRONG!!! DEPENDS ON THE ALTITUDE OF THE AIRCRAFT. "

Atmosphere at see level is 14.7 psi. If an aircraft was pressurized to a full 1 ATM ( and they are not ), at 30,000' the atmosphere is about 4-1/2 psi (4.3 psi ).

That means the pressure differential is only 10.4 psi.

For reference, you generate almost 1/2 psi differential sucking a milkshake through a straw... I would assume the skin of an aircraft is at least as strong as 20 Wendy's plastic straws, and would be able to handle the difference.