To: Tzfat
The speed/altitude chart suggests the plane broke the sound barrier before impact. This could explain the debris field.
About 15 years ago, there was an incident...an Indonesian airline..the pilot was suffering huge financial problems..He locked the co-pilot out of the cabin...then dove the 737 straight down..it augured into a river. The debris field initially suggested the plane broke up at altitude..then crashed..once they figured out it went supersonic in the descent..that's why the tail broke off before impact
141 posted on
03/24/2015 1:02:35 PM PDT by
ken5050
(When the GOP takes the Senate, it will tie Obama's hands for two years. How will he play golf?)
To: ken5050
The speed/altitude chart suggests the plane broke the sound barrier before impact. This could explain the debris field.Not likely. The chart at the link below shows the value at the altitudes shown varies between 574 and 650 kts. The plane slowed down slightly from its maximum speed (~500 kts), which was well below those values.
Mach vs. Altitude Tables
144 posted on
03/24/2015 1:12:26 PM PDT by
CedarDave
(Bush vs. Clinton in 2016 - If you have a 22-year old car, the bumper stickers are still good.)
To: ken5050
The speed/altitude chart suggests the plane broke the sound barrier before impact. This could explain the debris field.
Perhaps you are seeing something different than what is on this thread. The chart shows impact at about 390 knots at about 8,000 MSL. Assuming 0 degrees c, speed of sound would be about 640 knots.
150 posted on
03/24/2015 1:40:30 PM PDT by
Tzfat
FreeRepublic.com is powered by software copyright 2000-2008 John Robinson