2012 Boeing 727 crash experiment

Televised crash test experiment April 2022 2012 Boeing 727 crash experiment Crash experiment CHAMPION 727 (2323443982).jpg 350px The experiment aircraft while still in service with Champion Air yes 2012 04 27 Remote controlled deliberate crash into terrain Laguna Salada, Mexico 32.36 -115.66 type:event_region:MX inline,title Boeing 727-212 Advanced Big Flo Warner Bros. Discovery XB-MNP Mexicali International Airport On 27 April 2012, a multinational team of television studios staged an airplane crash near Mexicali, Mexico. An unmanned Boeing 727-200, fitted with numerous cameras, crash test dummies and other scientific instruments, was flown into the ground. The exercise was filmed for television. Aircraft and test site The aircraft used was a Boeing 727-200 purchased by the television production companies, registration XB-MNPRanter Harro 27 APR 2012 https://aviation-safety.net/database/record.php?id=20120427-0 2012-10-17 aviation-safety.net Aviation Safety Network 3 January 2024 https://web.archive.org/web/20240103103452/http://aviation-safety.net/database/record.php?id=20120427-0 live (formerly N293AS).N293AS http://registry.faa.gov/aircraftinquiry/NNum_Results.aspx?NNumbertxt=N293AS 24 October 2012 Federal Aviation Administration 2 May 2020 https://web.archive.org/web/20200502065123/https://registry.faa.gov/aircraftinquiry/NNum_Results.aspx?NNumbertxt=N293AS dead The site in Mexico was chosen because authorities in the United States would not allow the test to take place.Hinckley David 6 October 2012 TV Review: 'Curiosity: Plane Crash' - NY Daily News http://www.nydailynews.com/entertainment/tv-movies/tv-review-curiosity-plane-crash-article-1.1175968 dead https://web.archive.org/web/20150412044056/http://www.nydailynews.com/entertainment/tv-movies/tv-review-curiosity-plane-crash-article-1.1175968 2015-04-12 2012-10-17 New York Daily NewsEvans Natalie 12 October 2012 The Plane Crash: Channel 4 documentary discovers where is the safest place to sit on an aeroplane The Mirror London https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/the-plane-crash-channel-4-documentary-1374304 2012-10-17 6 March 2019 https://web.archive.org/web/20190306043214/https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/the-plane-crash-channel-4-documentary-1374304 live The aircraft's original owner was Singapore Airlines.November 2025 The last United-States-based owner was Broken Wing LLC of Webster Groves, Missouri, who then exported it and transferred it to a Mexican production company. Broken Wing is also the company that planned and executed the experiment.FAA Registry - Aircraft - N-Number Inquiry http://registry.faa.gov/aircraftinquiry/NNum_Results.aspx?NNumbertxt=N293AS 24 July 2014 registry.faa.gov Federal Aviation Administration 2 May 2020 https://web.archive.org/web/20200502065123/https://registry.faa.gov/aircraftinquiry/NNum_Results.aspx?NNumbertxt=N293AS dead The aircraft had been leased to Bob Dole's 1996 presidential election campaign by the then-owner AvAtlantic.Kaplan Don 2 October 2012 Discovery's 'Curiosity' slams a jet into the desert floor to study the damage in a plane crash New York Daily News http://www.nydailynews.com/entertainment/tv-movies/discovery-high-impact-special-eyes-plane-crash-article-1.1172279 24 July 2014 5 July 2018 https://web.archive.org/web/20180705175643/http://www.nydailynews.com/entertainment/tv-movies/discovery-high-impact-special-eyes-plane-crash-article-1.1172279 livePhotos: Boeing 727-212/Adv Aircraft Pictures http://www.airliners.net/photo/Untitled-%28AvAtlantic%29/Boeing-727-212-Adv/0239334/%26sid%3D4487aeef57089e6ce569580895e2835e 24 July 2014 airliners.net 4 March 2016 https://web.archive.org/web/20160304060751/http://www.airliners.net/photo/Untitled-%28AvAtlantic%29/Boeing-727-212-Adv/0239334/%26sid%3D4487aeef57089e6ce569580895e2835e live Flight Several federal permits by the Mexican government were needed before the remote controlled flight and crash could be performed. In addition, the Mexican authorities stipulated that the aircraft had to be flown by humans during part of the flight, since it would be flying over a populated area. The flight was piloted by captain Jim Bob Slocum, then controlled remotely by Chip Shanle, a former United States Navy pilot who worked at American Airlines.Jansen Bart 4 October 2012 As this (intentional) 727 crash shows, you can survive USA Today https://www.usatoday.com/story/travel/flights/2012/10/01/inside-a-doomed-jetliner-tv-show-stages-727-crash/1606749/ 8 October 2018 1 November 2017 https://web.archive.org/web/20181008062827/https://www.usatoday.com/story/travel/flights/2012/10/01/inside-a-doomed-jetliner-tv-show-stages-727-crash/1606749/ live The airplane took off from Mexicali International Airport in Mexicali, with three flight crew and three support jumpers, as well as a number of crash dummies, and with a chase plane Cessna Skymaster following close behind. As the flight progressed towards the Sonoran Desert of Baja California in Mexico, its occupants parachuted to safety via the 727's ventral airstair. Slocum was the last one to leave the jet, three minutes before impact. Shanle then flew the jetliner by remote control, from the chase plane. thumb | right | Aftermath at the crash site. Note that the cockpit has broken off. The jetliner hit the ground at 140 mph kn km/h, with a descent rate of 1500 ft/min.Marcott Amy 10 October 2012 Scientists Crash a Plane in the Name of Safety http://alum.mit.edu/pages/sliceofmit/2012/10/10/scientists-crash-a-plane-in-the-name-of-safety/ dead https://web.archive.org/web/20130129040232/http://alum.mit.edu/pages/sliceofmit/2012/10/10/scientists-crash-a-plane-in-the-name-of-safety/ 2013-01-29 2012-10-17 Slice of MIT Upon impact, the Boeing 727 broke up into several sections, the main landing gear collapsing with the cockpit being torn off the fuselage. The zone of the crash had been cordoned off by security teams, as well as Mexican police and military, for the safety of the public. Aftermath The crash site received a full environmental cleanup and salvage operation, under the supervision of Mexican authorities.Discovery Channel Canada, Curiosity, https://archive.today/20130115095708/http://www.discoverychannel.ca/Article.aspx?aid=46611 "ABOUT Curiosity: Plane Crash" (accessed 2012-10-27) thumb|upright=1.5|Large sections from the crashed plane stored alongside Highway 5 in March 2016 Most of the large sections of the plane that survived the crash – including the majority of the fuselage, as well as the detached cockpit and nose section – were moved to a field next to Federal Highway 5 south of Mexicali at 32 30 05 N 115 23 48 W type:landmark_scale:2000_region:MX inline, and were still there in December 2022. https://web.archive.org/web/20240220213159/https://www.google.com/maps/@32.5010517,-115.3972857,3a,37.5y,69.91h,91.07t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1ss6ezT-Ejg-mYZRv40rFnjQ!2e0!7i16384!8i8192?entry=ttu 20 February 2024 "Google Maps" (accessed 2024-01-01) However, satellite imagery taken in 2026 shows that nothing of the aircraft remains at the site. Study result January 2026 The conclusion for this test was that, in a case like this, passengers at the front of an aircraft would be the ones most at risk in a crash. Passengers seated closer to the airplane's wings would have suffered serious but survivable injuries such as broken ankles.January 2026 The test dummies near the tail section were largely intact, so any passengers there would have likely walked away without serious injury. However, in other crashes, such as when the tail hits the ground first, as was the case with Asiana Airlines flight 214, in which a Boeing 777-200ER crashed short of the runway at San Francisco International Airport, the reverse might apply.January 2026 The brace position was found to be protective against concussion and spinal injuries, but created additional loads on the legs that could result in fractured legs or ankles.January 2026 Additionally, the aircraft's wiring and cosmetic panels were shown to have collapsed into the passenger compartment, creating debris hazards and obstacles to evacuation.22 October 2024 How to survive a plane crash? Insights from scientists who intentionally crashed a Boeing https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/science/how-to-survive-a-plane-crash-insights-from-scientists-who-intentionally-crashed-a-boeing/articleshow/114464740.cms 24 January 2026 Times of India Television program A television program about the experiment was produced by Discovery Channel (United States), Dragonfly Film and Television Productions (United Kingdom), ProSieben (Germany), and Channel 4 (United Kingdom).David Kaminski-Morrow. "VIDEO: Boeing 727 deliberately crashed in desert for TV" https://web.archive.org/web/20160129013805/https://www.flightglobal.com/news/articles/video-boeing-727-deliberately-crashed-in-desert-for-tv-371267/ 29 January 2016 . Flight International, 30 April 2012. (accessed 2012-10-17) The crash was the subject of a Discovery Channel television series Curiosity 2-hour episode "Plane Crash".Discovery Channel. 2012-10-07 https://web.archive.org/web/20121114090705/http://dsc.discovery.com/tv-schedules/daily.html?date=20121007.281 14 November 2012 TV schedule (accessed 2012-10-17)Discovery Channel, Curiosity season 2 episode 1, "Plane Crash", airdate: 2012 October 7 The episode was aired on 7 October 2012 (28 October on Discovery Channel Canada, and 17 December on Discovery Channel IndiaNovember 2024), and it was narrated by Josh Charles.Sorcha Pollak. "Discovery Channel Crashes a Jet Plane — on Purpose" https://web.archive.org/web/20241205085654/https://newsfeed.time.com/2012/10/07/discovery-channel-crashes-a-jet-plane-on-purpose/ 5 December 2024 . Time, 7 October 2012. (accessed 2012-10-17) The 1-hour-35-minute episode "The Plane Crash" aired on Channel 4 in Britain on 11 October 2012.Channel 4. "The Plane Crash" https://web.archive.org/web/20180802015836/http://www.channel4.com/programmes/the-plane-crash 2 August 2018 (accessed 2012-10-17)Channel 4. 2012-10-11 https://web.archive.org/web/20121106020708/http://www.channel4.com/tv-listings/daily/2012/10/11 6 November 2012 TV schedule (accessed 2012-10-17) The program garnered criticism in Britain, as it was aired less than two weeks after the Sita Air Flight 601 air crash in Nepal.Caroline Shearing. "The Plane Crash: Channel 4 defends latest publicity stunt" https://web.archive.org/web/20160202080923/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/travelnews/9601042/The-Plane-Crash-Channel-4-defends-latest-publicity-stunt.html 2 February 2016 . The Telegraph (London), 11 October 2012. (accessed 2012-10-17) ProSieben planned to air the documentary special before the end of 2012de Sebastian Steinke, https://archive.today/20130211033400/http://www.flugrevue.de/de/luftfahrt/airlines/fernsehsender-lassen-unbemannte-boeing-727-bruchlanden.92990.htm "Fernsehsender lassen unbemannte Boeing 727 bruchlanden", FlugRevue, 3 May 2012 (accessed 2012-10-27) and the French channel France 5 broadcast it on 23 June 2013.November 2024 See also Controlled Impact Demonstration References External links "Discovery Channel Crashes a Passenger Jet For a Science Documentary", pictures Discovery Channel (USA) https://archive.today/20130115095708/http://www.discoverychannel.ca/Article.aspx?aid=46611 "ABOUT Curiosity: Plane Crash" el Discovery Channel Canada "The Plane Crash" https://web.archive.org/web/20180802015836/http://www.channel4.com/programmes/the-plane-crash 2 August 2018 Channel 4 (UK) History of N293AS "Curiosity" Plane Crash page on imdb.com Category:2012 in aviation Category:Aviation safety Category:Experiments Category:American documentary television films Category:Discovery Channel Category:ProSiebenSat.1 Media Category:Channel 4 documentaries Category:Boeing 727 Category:Aviation in Mexico