Boeing 727 Guided Crash Experiment

For the experiment, the television companies financing the project purchased a Boeing 727-212 aircraft (serial number 21348, factory number 1287), built in September 1977 for Singapore Airlines , where it flew with tail number 9V-SGB. Later, the board was sold to the Brazilian VASP , where it received PP-SMK registration, and then flew in several American airlines with numbers N26729 and N293AS ^{[1] [2]} . In 1996, it was used by Bob Dole for flights during his presidential campaign ^{[3] [4]} . The last American owner was Broken Wing LLC, which was involved in the design and implementation of the experiment ^{[5] [6]} . For bureaucratic reasons, she handed over the plane to the Mexican production company, which registered it under the number XB-MNP ^[7] . The design of the vessel, called "Big Flo", was amended to allow it to be controlled remotely ^[8] .

The preparation of the experiment took 4 years. The choice fell on Mexico after the refusal of the American aviation authorities to allow it to be held in the United States ^{[9] [10]} . The creators had to get several federal approvals from the Mexican government. Since there were several settlements in the experimental area, the condition was set that at the initial stage of its last flight, the aircraft would have to be controlled by the crew on board.

SIAI-Marchetti SF.260 was chosen as an escort aircraft , however, at the last moment due to a breakdown in its fuel pump, the slower Cessna 337B Skymaster (reg. N5456S) had to be used, which created difficulties, as the minimum speed of the Boeing 727 exceeded it maximum speed. To ensure safety, the crash area was cordoned off by guards, as well as the Mexican police and the military ^[11] .

On the morning of April 27, 2012, an aircraft under the control of Jim-Bob Slokam, a very experienced Boeing 727 pilot and active parachutist , took off from the runway of General Rodolfo Sanchez Taboad Airport in Mexicali ^[8] . In addition to Slocam, on board were co-pilot Bill Warlick, flight engineer Jerry Deary, and paratroopers (tandem masters and videographers). The flight to the crash site took place at an altitude of 1829 meters. The escort plane flew behind. When the Boeing 727 reached Sonoran Desert (30 minutes before the crash), the co-pilot and flight engineer left the plane in tandem parachutes. The last aircraft left the FAC Slokam and the operator who shot it, parachuting from a height of 3600 feet (1097 meters) 4 minutes before the crash. After that, the remote control of the Boeing was taken by the pilot Chip Chanle on board the escort aircraft ^{[8] [12]} . A minute before landing, at an altitude of 800 feet (244 meters), Chanle put the liner's engines into low- speed flight mode. But soon “Big Flo”, due to its higher speed, detached from the escort aircraft, the control radio signal was lost, as a result of which the Boeing landed at a certain distance from the planned location and at a vertical speed of 2.54 m / s less than the planned value of 10.16 m / s

“Big Flo” hit the ground with a negative pitch angle, horizontal speed of 230 km / h and vertical speed of 7.62 m / s ^[13] . From the blow, the liner fell into several parts. The bow of the vessel with the cabin and the front of the cabin came off, and several smaller fragments fell off. All three engines remained intact and continued to operate after the crash. Having ascertained that there was no fire, firefighters approached the wreckage and sent water jets into the air intakes, which caused the engines to stop.

After making sure that the wreckage was not dangerous, scientists boarded the board to document the results of the experiment ^[14] .

The crash site was carefully cleaned to avoid environmental damage. Cleaning was carried out under the supervision of the Mexican authorities ^[11] . Large fragments of the aircraft were taken to a site near Federal Highway 5 south of Mexicali ( ), where they are still located as September 2018

The study showed that in such a crash, passengers at the front of the passenger compartment are at greatest risk. One of the front seats at the time of the break was thrown out of the plane; passengers sitting in front would die as a result of mechanical damage and overload exceeding 12 g. Passengers in the wing area would receive serious, but not fatal injuries and fractures. At the same time, such injuries could limit their mobility, which in the event of a fire on board could become a fatal factor. The mannequins placed closer to the tail remained practically intact. But each crash is unique, and if the plane first hit the tail (as in the case of the Boeing 777 in San Francisco or Boeing 737 in Kegworth ), the passengers sitting in the rear would be most affected.

The experiment confirmed that passengers who did not take the pose recommended during an emergency landing (to bend to their knees and put their arms around their heads) are at greater risk than passengers who took it. If the passenger sits upright at the time of the impact, the chance of a strong head hit on the chair in front increases (which can lead to a head injury or a broken neck), as well as the chance of debris and objects flying through the cabin.

Unsecured objects and debris flying around the cabin are a great danger to passengers, which, if they get into people, could cause dangerous injuries. Wiring and broken off trim elements and aircraft equipment can become obstacles to evacuation ^[14] .

Television films about the experiment were released by Discovery (USA), Dragonfly Film and Television Productions (Great Britain), Channel 4 (Great Britain), ProSieben (Germany) and France 5 (France) ^[15] .

A controlled Boeing crash was dedicated to the 2-hour episode "Aircraft Crash" of the television series "Curiosity" on the Discovery Channel ^{[16] [17]} . The episode aired on October 7, 2012, and the off-screen text was read by Josh Charles ^{[17] [18]} .

A separate 95-minute film “Aircraft Crash” was aired by Channel 4 on October 11, 2012 ^{[19] [20]} . The air date was criticized, as it happened only a few days after the disaster Dornier Do 228 in Nepal ^[21] .

The two-hour episode "Aircraft Crash" was aired on Discovery Channel Canada (October 28, 2012) ^[11] and Discovery Channel India (December 17, 2012). ProSieben showed the film at the end of 2012 ^[22] . June 23, 2013 the film was released on the French channel France 5.

• Controlled strike demonstration
• Accident with Boeing 727