An Azerbaijan Airlines plane crash on Christmas Day has prompted speculation the plane was shot down by Russia after it took a detour of hundreds of miles in the wrong direction and crash-landed with holes in the fuselage.
A plane (or part of a plane) can have the required aerodynamics for a “flat stall” (flat spin) or similar condition of falling. Depending on the plane (or part of it), and depending on whether a fire follows the fall - with incredible luck it’s possible to come down at parachute-like speed and get away with injuries only.
However, if the plane was still controllable, then during an unpowered landing, pilots are supposed to trade speed for lift on the last moment. I guess they succeeded partly - they died, but folks in the tailward part stayed alive.
Being able to question survivors will help determine what happened, but the holes in surfaces look like air defense shrapnel to me. :(
A plane (or part of a plane) can have the required aerodynamics for a “flat stall” (flat spin) or similar condition of falling. Depending on the plane (or part of it), and depending on whether a fire follows the fall - with incredible luck it’s possible to come down at parachute-like speed and get away with injuries only.
However, if the plane was still controllable, then during an unpowered landing, pilots are supposed to trade speed for lift on the last moment. I guess they succeeded partly - they died, but folks in the tailward part stayed alive.
Being able to question survivors will help determine what happened, but the holes in surfaces look like air defense shrapnel to me. :(