AboutPaul Ruderham Expertise I have been studying aviation for over twenty years. I know about the function of airlines, how aeroplanes fly, aviation accidents and why they happen. I am also an accomplished model aeroplane pilot, and a flight simulator expert. I have flown chipmunks and light aircraft.
Experience Hands on experience working at the airport, plus many hours of studying airlines and different types of aeroplanes.
Question They say that where the plane is hit is most important than the size of the airplane. Very very true. I have some questions about the movie "Behind Enemy Lines" with Owen Wilson. What kind of missile hit the plane? Right before hitting the F-18, the missile jettisoned its nose cone and shot what looked like shotgun shells right into the jet splitting it apart and causing fuel to leak. Obviously it was an IR missile because it was homing on the plane's tailpipes. Is it also possible for a plane such as the F-18 to take a direct hit from a missile and still make a landing?
Answer Hi Kevin,
I have not seen the movie so I cannot answer any questions on it.
Aircraft are capable of surviving if hit by a missile. As you stated it depends where it is hit. In the case of the Iranian airbus this was a direct hit on the aircraft blowing it apart. But a cargo airliner wich was hit by a surface to air missile survived and landed thanks to the skill of the pilot and the area where it was hit. As long as the control surfaces are not damaged, aircraft can take quite a bit of damage.
Look at the spitfires and bombers which took terrible punishment during dogfights. They managed to land with holes in them and bits hanging off!
Prehaps the most remarkable incident of an aircraft surviving damage and landing safely was not done by a missile or bomb but by metal fatigue when the roof of an Aloha Airlines 737 ripped off at cruising height exposing the front half of the passenger cabin. The 737 landed safely thanks to its durability and the pilots cool nerve.
Summing up, as long as the aircraft is not blown apart and suffers shrapnel damage, it will more than likely survive and land.
