Could a 747 survive underwater?

A Boeing 747-200 would not sink if the main cabin was intact. The main cabin would provide about 1,300,000 pounds of buoyancy against a maximum gross weight of about 800,000 pounds. Further, the plane would be equipped with life rafts for the crew to deploy.



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4 November 1993: China Airlines Flight 605, a Boeing 747-409, ended up in water after it overran runway 13 at Kai Tak International Airport on landing during a typhoon with wind gusting to gale force. All of the 396 occupants donned life-vests, boarded the eight slide/rafts and no fatalities resulted.

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Yes, in theory, an 400,000 kg airplane like a 747 could be fitted with floats capable of displacing the 400 cubic meters of water required to keep it afloat, albeit with a decrease in performance.

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November 27, 1983: An Avianca 747-200 crashed while on approach to the airport in Madrid, Spain, killed 181 of the 192 people on board. June 23, 1985: An Air India 747-200 blew up over the Atlantic Ocean near Ireland, killed all 329 people on board. The plane, en-route to Bombay, was destroyed by a bomb.

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The Tenerife airport disaster occurred on March 27, 1977, when two Boeing 747 passenger jets collided on the runway at Los Rodeos Airport (now Tenerife North Airport) on the Spanish island of Tenerife.

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A normal landing speed is 160–165 kts (at 600,000 to 650,000 lbs). When completely empty, with a light fuel load (as in a short Mx ferry or repositioning flight after offloading), we could get as slow as 130 kts on landing (below 400,000 lbs).

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You may think the life vest under your airplane seat will save your life if the aircraft ends up in the water. In fact, such a thing has never happened in modern commercial airline flying.

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The FAA does not require commercial pilots to train to ditch but airline cabin personnel must train on the evacuation process.

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Yes it can, and has done so. First of all, they actually tested a 747 with a 777 engine to see how it would fly.

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Emergency landings are tough at high altitudes High terrain can cause a plane to crash if the cabin depressurizes, the plane must descend to 10,000 feet before heading to a nearby airport. Airlines choose not to fly over Tibet to prevent such situations.

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Different airplanes have different maximum altitudes, depending on their construction. For example, the Airbus A320 has a maximum altitude of 39,000 feet (11,900m) and the Boeing 747 45,000 feet (13,700m).

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The Boeing 747-400 experiences the least degradation in performance, making it safer during an engine failure. Fitting an aircraft with four engines also increases power, enabling more passengers, heavier payloads, and increased performance.

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Yes, a 747 can fly on two engines. In fact, the Boeing 747 is designed to be able to operate safely and efficiently with only two of its four engines running. This capability allows pilots to continue flying even if one or more of the aircraft's engines fail during flight.

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EasyJet. EasyJet has never had an accident. In fact, its history is so incident-free, it appears difficult to find any serious issue on one of its flights.

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KLM Flight 4805 and Pan Am Flight 1736, March 27, 1977 This crash remains the deadliest ever, claiming the lives of 583 people when two 747s collided on a foggy runway on the island of Tenerife in the Canary Islands.

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#1: The Tenerife Airport Disaster The deadliest aviation accident in history actually occurred while on the ground, not in the air. In 1977, two fully loaded Boeing 747 passenger jets collided in the middle of a runway on Tenerife Island, killing 583 people.

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