(Bloomberg) — The China Eastern Airlines Corp. plane that crashed on Monday was traveling at a speed close to that of sound just before crashing into a hillside, according to a Bloomberg News review of airstrip data.
An impact of that size would complicate the task of investigators because it could erase evidence and, in rare cases, damage an airplane's data and voice recorders that are designed to withstand most accidents.
Boeing Co.'s 737-800 was airborne at more than 966 kilometers per hour and, at one point, could have exceeded 1126 kph, according to data from Flightradar24, a website that tracks planes.
“Preliminary data indicate that it was close to the speed of sound,” said Juan Hansman, a professor of astronautics and aeronautics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology who reviewed Bloomberg's calculation of airplane speed. “I was going down in a tailspin.”
At sea level, sound travels at 1235 kph, but decreases with altitude as air temperature drops.
Flight 5735 was flying to Guangzhou from Kunming with 132 people on board at an altitude of about 29,000 feet when a sudden descent began, according to data transmitted by the aircraft and captured by Flightradar24. The passenger plane was sailing at about 957 kph before the dive.
The preliminary review of the speed of the aircraft took into account its horizontal speed above the ground, as well as the speed with which it was descending.
Thespeed data is consistent with the videos that appear to show the jet diving at a steep angle in the moments before the impact and indicate that it probably hit the ground with great force.
“It was an extremely high energy shock,” said Bob Mann, president of consulting firm RW Mann & Co., who was not involved in the velocity analysis. “It looks like it literally evaporated in a crater. Does the flight data recorder or cockpit voice recorder or quick access recorder survive? I just don't know the answer.”
Original Note:
China Jet's Fatal Dive Took It Near Speed of Sound Before Crash
More stories like this are available on bloomberg.com
©2022 Bloomberg L.P.
Últimas Noticias
Debanhi Escobar: they secured the motel where she was found lifeless in a cistern
Members of the Specialized Prosecutor's Office in Nuevo León secured the Nueva Castilla Motel as part of the investigations into the case
The oldest person in the world died at the age of 119
Kane Tanaka lived in Japan. She was born six months earlier than George Orwell, the same year that the Wright brothers first flew, and Marie Curie became the first woman to win a Nobel Prize
Macabre find in CDMX: they left a body bagged and tied in a taxi
The body was left in the back seats of the car. It was covered with black bags and tied with industrial tape
The eagles of America will face Manchester City in a duel of legends. Here are the details
The top Mexican football champion will play a match with Pep Guardiola's squad in the Lone Star Cup
Why is it good to bring dogs out to know the world when they are puppies
A so-called protection against the spread of diseases threatens the integral development of dogs
