Please explain, I do not understand.

If a 747 (just a little bit larger than the eta...) breaks up in flight
due to overloading, killing 400 passengers, it is not a an accident. So
what is it then?

Robert

Stefan wrote:
Vaughn Simon wrote:

information we have, it apparently broke up in flight, the occupants bailed
out, and then gravity took its natural course until the failed airframe
(crashed, fell, bumped, decellerated, sprinkled, oopsied) into/onto the
surface of the earth. Help me with the finer points of English please; how
is this not a crash?


Ok. Technically (and linguisitcally), it *is* a crash. Nothing wrong.

However, when I read the headline "aircraft crashed", I understand
"accident", and I guess that's what the vast majority does. My mistake,
agreed, as it wasn't written anywhere whether the plane broke up during
normal flight, did a bad landing or was destroyed voluntarily. Anyway,
"accident" ist what that headline implies.

But it wasn't an accident. It was a test flight to explore the limit,
and they found the limit, although a bit earlier than they wanted, I
guess. That's exactly what test flights are for.

So a better headline would be "eta fails spin test".

Stefan