Boeing 727 deliberately crashed to make film and provide safety tips

IN the first airliner crash test since 1984, California aviation experts deliberately crashed a Boeing 727 into a Mexican dry lake bed in the interests of providing footage for the Discovery channel and to learn what could be learned in the interests of aviation safety.

Broken Wing CEO Chip Shanle, who provides aviation expertise to the film industry, was asked to purchase an airliner, design a remote control system to operate it, and then crash it, reports the California Ventura County Star.

At that stage, the project was part of an episode of "Curiosity" on the Discovery Channel. It was the first time a plane was crash-tested since 1984, when NASA attempted it with mixed results, according to the network.

Creators hoped to create "a serious but survivable crash landing," allowing experts to study how the plane would handle such an impact and its effects on passengers, according to the network. Results could be studied for years and possibly inform safety experts.

They found a suitable aircraft in a storage facility in Ardmore, Oklahoma, and paid US$449,000, then flew it to San Bernardino where it was made more airworthy ahead of the Mexican experiment.

"It was a dry lake bed. There was nothing on it, just dirt. And it was ringed by mountains," said Mr Shanle.

The plane had to be controlled remotely during the crash descent. Until then, a pilot would fly it. The plane would be flown with only two of three engines, both on low power so it couldn''t climb. Even if everything failed, the plane wouldn''t make it out of the range, Mr Shanle said.

Once the plane was in position the 727''s pilot climbed out of the cockpit and parachuted out. Three minutes later, the airliner crashed into the dry lakebed, sending up a plume of dirt and wreckage. Its cockpit buckled as a wave of debris rushed through the inside of the cabin.