NZFF

Last night (I think) I saw a documentery on american flight 175 that hit the second tower and one fact really surprised me...
when the plane was decending it was decending at a rate of 10000 ft per minute(ten thousand) Wouldn't this break up the aircraft? I would not like to be on a flight that does that!!!

Aircraft can sustain a large amount of stress, you wouldn't normaly descent quite that quickly but they certainly can do it, such as in the event of a cabin decompresion an emergancy descent can can be almost that rate, such as a 737-436 that lost cabin pressure at FL340 and made an emergancy descent to seven thousand feet at a rate of six thousand feet per minute, I don't think was any significant structural damage. They are desisnged to do all this, and reach very high airspeeds, its when you get into the trans sonic range it must become a problem? And of course all aircraft have their acceleration limits, what would be incurred if these aceleration limits were to be exceded?

I don't think they would have been thinking about maintaing the aircraft in a suitable condition for the next flight anyway, can't say it would have been plesent for the passengers descending that fast thow, serios damge to the ears.

Thanks
James

not really that much involved when you work it out

10000ft per min @ 6000 ft per nm = 1.67nm per min = 100kts

you are going down at less than the speed of a C172 in the cruise. The stress is when you pull out and apply the G's. or hit a building!