Re: The missing Boeing... (tenuous link with science)

Posted by bobbapink on Apr 30, 2002 at 10:28
(208.58.228.183)

Re: The missing Boeing... (tenuous link with science) (Richard Linney)

Can you explain how a Boeing 757-200, weighing nearly 100 tons and travelling at a minimum speed of 250 miles an hour* only damaged the outside of the Pentagon?

Assumes facts not in evidence. The maximum speed of a Boeing is (I think) in excess of 600 mph. I’ve not checked the official estimates as to how fast the aircraft was traveling on impact but I suspect it was far in excess of 250. The driver wasn’t trying to land it, he was trying to crash it. As to the damage, the shell of the pentagon is reinforced concrete and is pretty much suited as a bomb shelter. I once saw some footage of a navy F-4 intentionally flown (by remote) into a concrete barrier. The F4 telescoped into itself. There was virtually nothing recognizable as an aircraft left after the impact. The concrete barrier suffered some mild surface abrasion. Why? The F-4, like the Boeing, is primarily a hollow tube of lightweight aluminum filled with jet fuel.

Can you explain how a Boeing 14.9 yards high, 51.7 yards long, with a wingspan of 41.6 yards and a cockpit 3.8 yards high, could crash into just the ground floor of this building?

Yes. If the angle of impact was approximately 45 degrees and the point of impact was approximately where the outer Pentagon wall met the foundation.

You'll remember that the aircraft only hit the ground floor of the Pentagon's first ring. Can you find debris of a Boeing 757-200 in this photograph?

Given the probable impact velocity, construction materials, and after-the-fact small JPEG photos presented, I wouldn’t expect to find any recognizable debris.

Can you explain why the Defence Secretary deemed it necessary to sand over the lawn, which was otherwise undamaged after the attack?

Yes. The magnitude and multitude of the requisite construction equipment required to clean up the mess and began reconstruction needed a suitable surface on which to operate. Otherwise it would turn into a big mud-field after the first rain.

Can you explain what happened to the wings of the aircraft and why they caused no damage?

Umm - clearly they did cause damage.

Note the damage extending to where the superimposed left wing impacted. As to the right wing, further fire and damage obscures the original damage caused by that wing.

Can you explain why the County Fire Chief could not tell reporters where the aircraft was?

Because 1) there was nothing recognizable as an aircraft after the impact and 2) County Fire Chief’s are not experts in accident investigations involving commercial airliners.

Can you find the aircraft's point of impact?

Hypothesized above.



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