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dmorris68
Legend
Loyaler
There have been a number of cases over the years of people falling out of planes and surviving impact (usually skydivers with failed chutes but also more than one mid-air plane explosions/breakups). It all depends on the ground conditions where they hit, body placement at impact, etc. Land on concrete, yeah pretty much 100% splat. Land in marshy, boggy, or snowy areas, or have trees and bushes break your fall, and it's a lottery thing. In 1971 a 17 year old girl fell out of a plane that exploded when struck by lightening. She fell over two miles, still strapped in her seat, and suffered only a broken collarbone, a cut on her arm, and a swollen eye.
Beyond the first few thousand feet, distance of fall doesn't matter since you reach terminal velocity within seconds anyway. In a horizontal, belly-first freefall, a human body reaches a terminal velocity of ~120mph within several seconds, so whether falling 50,000 ft or 5,000 ft you'll hit the ground with the same velocity (and thus the same force). If you're fortunate enough to be attached or contained within a much larger structure, like the piece of a plane, the larger surface area would significantly reduce terminal velocity and make it even more survivable.
Jurn8
Legend
Silver Level
big time
No Brainer
Losing keeps me sane
Silver Level
O
onemorechance
live free or die
Silver Level
that was THAT month though wasn't it? with all the drama?
edit - ah i thought you meant that had more than this, n/m
M
Marginal
Junior Member
Silver Level
Im also thinking about this, see you guys in 2 months.
xdeucesx
Bar Master
Bronze Level
theres no way this could be done
Stu_Ungar
Legend
Silver Level
Wv and his trusty ban hammer!
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