# Why do fighters crash? What are the more common reasons?



## dreamerboy (7 Dec 2010)

Hi, I just saw this old news. Does anybody know why fighter jet crashes usually happen?
I remember my father told me one of his High School buddies died in a fighter jet crash in the Argentinian military.. I always wondered what kind of defect or human error can be blamed for this.

Thanks.


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## Michael OLeary (7 Dec 2010)

This topic was split from a specific thread about a crash and the pilot who was killed.

Milnet.ca Staff


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## Kat Stevens (7 Dec 2010)

Physics, particularly Newton's discovery of gravity.


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## GAP (7 Dec 2010)

Kat Stevens said:
			
		

> Physics, particularly Newton's discovery of gravity.



Yeah, but there's bad karma too!!


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## chrisf (7 Dec 2010)

Yeah but you have to obey gravity, it's the law!


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## Zoomie (7 Dec 2010)

System failure, structural failure, bird strike, bird ingestion, weather (ice, snow, rain, sleet, lightning, turbulence), fuel contamination, pilot error, act of God....  I can keep going.

Modern fighter aircraft are inherently unstable in flight and require onboard systems to keep it flying.  It is impossible to fly a modern fighter if the computer shits itself.


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## chrisf (7 Dec 2010)

All of which result in complications due to gravity...

Is it a safe assumption that fighters can't glide? Or not very well anyway?


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## Michael OLeary (7 Dec 2010)

http://in.answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20060704021433AA1bxGF



> Nearly every aircraft has a glide ratio. (The F-4 fighter is a notable exception; it's a sewer cover without power.) For example, a 747 Jumbo Jet has a glide ratio of 15:1. This means that without power, it can travel 15 miles for every mile of altitude so at typical cruise altitude of 35,000 feet (a bit over 6 1/2 miles) it can travel about 99 miles. By comparison, the Space Shuttle's glide ratio is a measly 1:1 and we manage to get it on the ground safely every time; the two Space Shuttles lost to date had nothing to do with glide issues.



More at link.


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## Journeyman (7 Dec 2010)

a Sig Op said:
			
		

> All of which result in complications due to gravity...
> Is it a safe assumption that fighters can't glide? Or not very well anyway?


In which case, it's unfair to blame gravity, when clearly, the earth is to blame for being in the way of a falling aircraft.

It's like the safety people talking abut injuries due to falls. In reality, there were no injuries until the person _stopped_ falling.


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## Oldgateboatdriver (7 Dec 2010)

Actually, the real question ought to be:  Why do planes even fly some of the time?

The answer would be that ignorance is bliss.

A friend of mine, Met. Officer with a PhD in physics, but absolutely petrified at the thought of flying once explained to me that "planes fly because they do not know that they are heavier than air, and thus incapable of flight. As soon as a plane becomes aware of this fact, it stops flying"  .


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## Michael OLeary (7 Dec 2010)

Oldgateboatdriver said:
			
		

> A friend of mine, Met. Officer with a PhD in physics, but absolutely petrified at the thought of flying once explained to me that "planes fly because they do not know that they are heavier than air, and thus incapable of flight. As soon as a plane becomes aware of this fact, it stops flying"  .



So, self-aware machines cease executing their primary functions?

I guess that means ..... robot apocalypse averted.

;D


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