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#1
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What really happened to Chuck Noland's plane
After watching _Cast Away_ again, I'm still not clear on what supposedly
caused the crash of his FedEx plane. Not being a pilot, though, perhaps I've missed clues in the film. Has anyone here been able to figure out what went wrong? Or was it just a "Hollywood crash" suitable for the plot but with no plausible basis in fact? Some of the things I'm wondering: 1. The aircraft seems to be stuck in rough weather, but what kind of rough weather would cause a sudden decompression? 2. Assuming the aircraft was at cruising altitude, how much rough weather can there be? I know that cloudtops can go a lot higher, but how hard can they be to avoid? The weather radar aboard shows something, but I don't know how to interpret weather radar. 3. When the cabin decompresses, everyone puts on oxygen masks, but only seconds later they don't seem to need them anymore. I calculate that getting from 35,000 feet to 10-15,000 feet would require flying straight down at almost the speed of sound in order to make the descent in the time shown in the movie. I can see why there might be some structural damage upon returning to level flight! 4. I see red lights in the cockpit that look like a sign of engine trouble, but I don't know enough about that cockpit to say for sure. Comments? 5. The pilots are talking a bit and communicating by radio, but one can't make out what they are saying (although they are going through checklists, which might be significant). Has anyone figured out what they are doing? 6. What sort of turbofan continues to run after being partially submerged in sal****er? 7. What sort of jet engine develops spooky flames inside the compressor section and behind the bypass fan after being dunked in sal****er? 8. What happened to all the fuel on the jet? Why isn't it floating and burning? It seems to be only slightly less buoyant than mercury in the film, and apparently goes down with the ship. 9. How can a jet engine that is apparently the size of a small suburban home explode without spraying shrapnel into the hapless crash survivor floating in a raft only a few feet away? FWIW, the IMDB already points out that the attitude indicator in the aircraft actually shows a gentle climb at the moment that it is supposedly diving towards the ocean. I had a dream last night that I crashed aboard an Airbus 230 jet. (Never heard of the 230? Neither had I, before having this dream, but it sure was roomy.) The aircraft descended several times to within only two metres of the ground (I remember looking out the giant picture windows at the front of the cabin and seeing this), before it somehow instantaneously gained altitude and then plunged directly into a field that looked a lot like those little wooden houses in old versions of Monopoly. Anyway, I woke up then, and found myself thinking about technical anomalies in the above-named film. -- Transpose hotmail and mxsmanic in my e-mail address to reach me directly. |
#2
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I had a dream last night that I crashed aboard an Airbus 230 jet. (Never heard of the 230? Neither had I, before having this dream, but it sure was roomy.) The aircraft descended several times to within only two metres of the ground (I remember looking out the giant picture windows at the front of the cabin and seeing this) I don't think you were in an Airbus. I think you were in the passenger version of the Northrop Flying Wing. See if I'm not right: www.warbirdforum.com/paxwing.htm all the best -- Dan Ford email: (put CUB in subject line) see the Warbird's Forum at www.warbirdforum.com and the Piper Cub Forum at www.pipercubforum.com |
#3
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It's crystal clear what happened. Hollywood script writer needed to get
good looking nice guy onto desert island. Do you expect anything else to be remotely plausible? There are exceptions. I've been in the marine business for 30 years, designed ships and done flooding and strength calculations on them. I've also participated in accident investigations. I watched the whole of "Titanic" without seeing a single fact out of place. The director was stunningly compulsive. He didn't do "Castaway" though. -- Roger Long |
#4
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Mxsmanic opined
After watching _Cast Away_ again, I'm still not clear on what supposedly caused the crash of his FedEx plane. Not being a pilot, though, perhaps I've missed clues in the film. Has anyone here been able to figure out what went wrong? Or was it just a "Hollywood crash" suitable for the plot but with no plausible basis in fact? Some of the things I'm wondering: 1. The aircraft seems to be stuck in rough weather, but what kind of rough weather would cause a sudden decompression? 2. Assuming the aircraft was at cruising altitude, how much rough weather can there be? I know that cloudtops can go a lot higher, but how hard can they be to avoid? The weather radar aboard shows something, but I don't know how to interpret weather radar. 3. When the cabin decompresses, everyone puts on oxygen masks, but only seconds later they don't seem to need them anymore. I calculate that getting from 35,000 feet to 10-15,000 feet would require flying straight down at almost the speed of sound in order to make the descent in the time shown in the movie. I can see why there might be some structural damage upon returning to level flight! 4. I see red lights in the cockpit that look like a sign of engine trouble, but I don't know enough about that cockpit to say for sure. Comments? 5. The pilots are talking a bit and communicating by radio, but one can't make out what they are saying (although they are going through checklists, which might be significant). Has anyone figured out what they are doing? 6. What sort of turbofan continues to run after being partially submerged in sal****er? 7. What sort of jet engine develops spooky flames inside the compressor section and behind the bypass fan after being dunked in sal****er? 8. What happened to all the fuel on the jet? Why isn't it floating and burning? It seems to be only slightly less buoyant than mercury in the film, and apparently goes down with the ship. 9. How can a jet engine that is apparently the size of a small suburban home explode without spraying shrapnel into the hapless crash survivor floating in a raft only a few feet away? FWIW, the IMDB already points out that the attitude indicator in the aircraft actually shows a gentle climb at the moment that it is supposedly diving towards the ocean. I had a dream last night that I crashed aboard an Airbus 230 jet. (Never heard of the 230? Neither had I, before having this dream, but it sure was roomy.) The aircraft descended several times to within only two metres of the ground (I remember looking out the giant picture windows at the front of the cabin and seeing this), before it somehow instantaneously gained altitude and then plunged directly into a field that looked a lot like those little wooden houses in old versions of Monopoly. Anyway, I woke up then, and found myself thinking about technical anomalies in the above-named film. Insert Hollywood into each answer space. -ash for assistance dial MYCROFTXXX |
#5
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"Cub Driver" wrote in message ... I don't think you were in an Airbus. I think you were in the passenger version of the Northrop Flying Wing. See if I'm not right: www.warbirdforum.com/paxwing.htm Where is the cockpit in the flying wing? |
#6
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Chuck opined
"Cub Driver" wrote in message .. . I don't think you were in an Airbus. I think you were in the passenger version of the Northrop Flying Wing. See if I'm not right: www.warbirdforum.com/paxwing.htm Where is the cockpit in the flying wing? The wing, of course . -ash for assistance dial MYCROFTXXX |
#7
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On Wed, 05 Nov 2003 09:35:38 +0100, Mxsmanic
wrote: After watching _Cast Away_ again, I'm still not clear on what supposedly caused the crash of his FedEx plane. Not being a pilot, though, perhaps I've missed clues in the film. Has anyone here been able to figure out what went wrong? Or was it just a "Hollywood crash" suitable for the plot but with no plausible basis in fact? Some of the things I'm wondering: FWIW, the IMDB already points out that the attitude indicator in the aircraft actually shows a gentle climb at the moment that it is supposedly diving towards the ocean. It's a movie, not a documentary! By the way, the attitude indicator does not indicate a "climb", it indicates a nose-up attitude. Every time I land I have a nose-up attitude while I decent gently to the runway. The altimeter or vertical speed indicator would indicate a climb. Rich Russell |
#8
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The first thing you have to understand about Hollywood is that the laws of
physics in most movies come from an alternate universe. Bullets flash when they strike metal (and sometimes even wood!). Laser beams are visible for all to see. People can outrun shock waves that are traveling at the speed of sound and reach tiny crevices that will shelter them from all the buses and vehicles being swept along by the shock wave. Hollywood applies a great deal of poetic license to just about everything in order to move the plot along, make the story more interesting and exciting, and increase the atmosphere that the director is trying to project. The MAC-10 always fires more bullets than it can possibly hold, Steve McQueen's car has an infinite number of hubcaps that can fly off of it, Indiana Jones never loses his hat, etc. James Bond's invisible Aston Martin can magically repair itself and for some reason the anti-skid mechanism that is standard on this car does not work in the movie so that the car can go sliding all over a frozen lake. Nevertheless, the movies do attempt to maintain a kind of internal consistency. The movie begins with the unlikely separation of Noland from all the things that he normally carries, including his Swiss Army Knife. Chuck Noland's plane has diverted far to the south to avoid unusually severe thunderstorms, but is caught in them anyway. The load begins to shift and some of it punches through the fuselage wall, causing an explosive decompression and damaging several control systems. The airplane descends rapidly to 10,000 feet as the pilots fight for control of the aircraft. The rapid descent, hail, and shrapnel from the damaged fuselage could all explain the engine failures. This descent is compressed in time to prevent the audience from becoming bored with the scene. I can believe the load shifting and causing a decompression because I have seen this happen to friends of mine. They lived, but were hospitalized for six months. Time compression is necessary in almost all Hollywood movies. It can happen on a larger scale, as in "Braveheart," where William Wallace's campaigns are compressed to a very short time, or on extremely small scales, such as the descent of the Shuttle in "Space Cowboys." There is time expansion as well; for example the approaching shock wave of an explosion is often shown in slow motion. Once Noland's aircraft ditches the pilots are fatally injured by the impact, but Noland is unhurt and is not crushed by the rest of the cargo which almost certainly would have come loose in such a crash. Noland struggles with the survival kit and finally breaks free to the surface where he is nearly immolated by flaming fuel and almost killed by the shrapnel from the turbine engine which is still spooling down. Noland is 'lucky' in the same sense that the bad guys always miss when shooting at the action hero. Although Noland should be completely covered with burns from the interaction of jet fuel with water, he is virtually unharmed when he is washed up on shore of his island. The island is uninhabited, but just so happens to have all the necessary ingredients for survival. Although Noland is alone on the island for years, he does not go crazy or commit suicide. The harsh truth is that virtually all survivors in his situation will do both within a few months. Man truly cannot live alone. However, there have been some notable exceptions, so we can allow that Noland may be one of these extremely strong-willed individuals, deriving enough needed companionship from the picture of his girlfriend and from Wilson. Noland also survives, against all odds, several fatal mistakes, including a severe injury on a coral reef. |
#9
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"C J Campbell" wrote:
The first thing you have to understand about Hollywood is that the laws of physics in most movies come from an alternate universe. Bullets flash when they strike metal (and sometimes even wood!). Laser beams are visible for all to see. People can outrun shock waves that are traveling at the speed of sound and reach tiny crevices that will shelter them from all the buses and vehicles being swept along by the shock wave. And my two favorites: explosions five miles away are heard at the same instant they are seen, and vessels in space make a "whoosh" sound as they go by. -- Dan C172RG at BFM |
#10
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Chuck writes:
Where is the cockpit in the flying wing? Cockpit?? Hmm ... so _that's_ why it flew so poorly! Those careless engineers--always forgetting _something_! -- Transpose hotmail and mxsmanic in my e-mail address to reach me directly. |
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