My cousin recently flew in a Singapore Airlines 747 which developed a fault 4 hours after take-off, turned back and had to dump a few thousand gallons of jet fuel before landing.
So what happens to the land or sea below when this happens? How much damage does it do to the creatures below?
It’s big news when a ship founders and leaks fuel into the sea, but planes effectively doing the same don’t get a mention.
Bri 🙁
By: bri - 19th December 2007 at 10:32
Thanks for that lads.
Bri 🙂
By: wysiwyg - 18th December 2007 at 20:17
Atomisation occurs fairly quickly. We usually consider a minimum of 5000′ terrain clearance to be adequate but ATC in most places will give you higher. We assume a descent rate of around 500′ per minute for the jettisoned load and will usually ask for 2 minute legs in the hold to avoid flying into our own efflux.
By: Gonzo - 18th December 2007 at 15:28
If it’s done above 10,000ft, none of it will touch the ground, it will evaporate into the atmosphere.
Even down to a few thousand feet, very little (or any, if it’s pretty warm) will reach the ground.
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December 18, 2007 at 11:00 am