Pilot Reports 'Missile' Fired at Jetliner Near LAX (11/28/05)

[Shaky]

Originally posted by Wolfala
Now this...is my type of clustered engine.

All black powder motors, probally F's from the arrangement.

Count them all - figure at about 80 Newton second impulse per engine. Big big number, and risky. I blew up a 1/3 scale PAC-2 rocket that weighed about 15 lbs with a black powder that had a motor casing failure.

I tried counting 1 of the clusters at the top left and got lost at 51.

44 in each cluster

No need to count em individually. Long axis first row is 5, +1for each row. Add forst 3 rows, double it, add middle row.

2X(5+6+7) +8 = 44

[Sundowner]

Originally posted by eagl
The LAX departure, if I recall correctly, goes over water. Some commercially available signaling flares can exceed 1500 ft in altitude, travel quickly and may look like a missile, and leave a smoke trail that has just that kind of "wiggle" that looks like a guided missile, especially if the winds shift at all near the ground.

So yea, any pilot including a military pilot, seeing something bright with a smoke trail flashing past, will probably have no idea exactly what it was.

eagl,
If you were in a fighter and experienced this would you dump chaff/flares and go evasive or call "2" on the radio and ask for his assesment?  

Regards
Sun

[Wolfala]

I couldn't resist













King noodle award



Beginning...




Ending...



Memories of my rockets ending

[Chairboy]

I was at LDRS 20 and got to see a 12 foot V2 (250+ lbs) take off, have a CATO in one of the four engines, tilt towards and fly over the crowd before impact 20 feet past the last parked car.  

It was awesome.

[DREDIOCK]

Originally posted by Shaky
44 in each cluster

No need to count em individually. Long axis first row is 5, +1for each row. Add forst 3 rows, double it, add middle row.

2X(5+6+7) +8 = 44

Center cluster has 52

total of all clusters is 316

LOL that'll give it some giddyap

[Russian]

Warheads on shoulder carried SAMs are too small to bring a large airliner…. Now for a 737 sized plane I can see a problem arousing.

[DJ111]

Post more pics, my computer hasn't exploded yet...  

[Chairboy]

Russian: MANPADS usually don't destroy aircraft through raw force, usually they do so by hitting them with a 'shotgun blast' of shrapnel with the intent of disrupting enough systems that the aircraft fails.  Double points if it compromises fuel tanks or engines and causes secondary explosions.

An SA-7 could take out a 747, for instance, if it hit an inboard engine, caused it to explode while compromising the inboard fuel tank, igniting the fireball, and then losing the affected wing.  It'd be a lucky shot, but perfectly possible.

When MANPADS are succesfully used against civilian liners (and it will happen eventually), it will probably be two or three being used at once on a plane that has just taken off.

Regarding the LAX departures, it's over the ocean, yes, but a car stopped on Sandpiper or Vista Del Mar could unload a pair of shooters, they could fire their loads without any witnesses, and be driving before the plane hits the water.

[Russian]

Originally posted by Chairboy
Russian: MANPADS usually don't destroy aircraft through raw force, usually they do so by hitting them with a 'shotgun blast' of shrapnel with the intent of disrupting enough systems that the aircraft fails.  Double points if it compromises fuel tanks or engines and causes secondary explosions.

An SA-7 could take out a 747, for instance, if it hit an inboard engine, caused it to explode while compromising the inboard fuel tank, igniting the fireball, and then losing the affected wing.  It'd be a lucky shot, but perfectly possible.

When MANPADS are succesfully used against civilian liners (and it will happen eventually), it will probably be two or three being used at once on a plane that has just taken off.
 

I remember reading of few instances where a S-SAM hit an airplane and it turned around and landed on a same field as it just taken off. No news articles come to mind when an airline got hit and failed to land. Shrapnel does cause damage, but not enough to cause a catastrophic damage for the wing, and fuel, if it lights, gives pilot around 1-2 minutes to land. I do not know about US pilots, but Soviet pilots were required to land in less then 80 seconds for Tu134, since 80 seconds is the time it takes to burn through control surfaces. (Ref about Tu134: sukhoi.ru)

[Wolfala]

Originally posted by Russian
I remember reading of few instances where a S-SAM hit an airplane and it turned around and landed on a same field as it just taken off. No news articles come to mind when an airline got hit and failed to land. Shrapnel does cause damage, but not enough to cause a catastrophic damage for the wing, and fuel, if it lights, gives pilot around 1-2 minutes to land. I do not know about US pilots, but Soviet pilots were required to land in less then 80 seconds for Tu134, since 80 seconds is the time it takes to burn through control surfaces. (Ref about Tu134: sukhoi.ru)

DHL out of Baghdad November 2003

[Russian]

Originally posted by Wolfala
DHL out of Baghdad November 2003

Yeah....but it landed.

http://www.airwaypioneers.com/DHLBaghdad.htm

(I do remember stories from afgan...when they didn't... )

[Golfer]

A Hawker business jet also was hit by a SAM in Africa.  Returned and landed safely.

[nirvana]

That's what I was thinking was one of those large model rockets but i'm no where near sure on the max altitude of them, I think I heard they can almost get to the atmosphere or somewhere in that area.  That's just from memory thoIugh, could be completely wrong.

[Golfer]

What if I told you that your ears are of such immense height that they're in the atmosphere too?  

[Skilless]

Originally posted by Golfer
What if I told you that your ears are of such immense height that they're in the atmosphere too?