Jesse Jackson thinks your AR-15 can shoot down airplanes

[Doppel]

It's a fact you could take down a plane with an AR-15.

Given the speed of the plane, its height, and the fact that 99.999% of bullets won't take it down anyway I'd say the odds are similar to dropping a basketball from said plane and trying to get it into a basketball net.

 

[Abraxas]

Why is it more dangerous while landing?

Because if it were, for example, in midair, there would be sufficient time for another member of the flight crew to engage the autopilot if we were, for example, talking about an airliner. Planes can land themselves these days, provided there is sufficient time to tell them to do it. If the plane has sufficient speed to get airborne the crew would still have time on takeoff. If it doesn't have sufficient speed then it will crash, but intuitively it seems like it would be less bad than falling out of the sky.

When the plane is already hurtling towards the Earth and the flight crew has settled in for landing there is less chance to respond. Further, during approach the cockpit is facing the airstrip and a shooter would know this, which gives them a fixed position they can put themselves in to line up a shot without the aircraft moving around a whole lot which makes it easier to aim. Further, takeoff and landing are the only points in which an aircraft is even within range of most weapons.

 

[exdeath]

Shoot the pilot? You people have no idea how thick and nearly indestructible an airliner windshield is...

Might as well be using spitwads with a 5.56.

Ever seen the multilayer 12" thick laminated poly-carbonate used for polar bear exhibits? Yeah, its like that...

 

[exdeath]

I do wonder what kind of damage a few rounds would do if directed at the compressor blades...I know they test them against bird strikes but birds are soft tissue. Pinging a few rounds off the fans might be enough to take out the engines.

Nothing. Might leave a scratch. The blades you see are high bypass turbofan blades, not engine compressor blades.

And the blades are so large and made of such exotic hard materials that a 62 gr copper bullet would barely leave a scratch.

You couldn't take an airliner down with a .50 BMG let alone a 5.56. Planes are BIG.

There is a reason AA guns are 20+ mm and explosive.

WTF do they teach in school these days? Physics and engineering are clearly not priorities.

 

[DucatiMonster696]

Anti-2nd amendment prohibitionists are about as informed and rational as people who sign up to ban dihydrogen monoxide.

 

[klinc]

What non-military weapon has an effective range of over a mile against a moving target at up to 250 mph

Jihad terrorist with a plastic knife

 

[Abraxas]

Shoot the pilot? You people have no idea how thick and nearly indestructible an airliner windshield is...

Might as well be using spitwads with a 5.56.

Ever seen the multilayer 12" thick laminated poly-carbonate used for polar bear exhibits? Yeah, its like that...

I'll grant I haven't spent a lot of time working on aircraft or studying how bullet resistant their windshields are, but based on what little research I have done today the question of whether an airliner's windshield is bulletproof is far from cut and dried. One of the things discussed after 9/11 was the idea of arming pilots and one of the major arguments against it was the possibility of shattering the windshield.

A quick search on "airliner broken windshield" on Google with dozens of incidents leads me to believe you may be overstating just how "indestructible" these windshields are.

Further, not every plane is an airliner, either.

 

[zanejohnson]

omg, just say it!

it's a gun grab people!

 

[Greenman]

But would is crash the plane? I sincerely doubt it.

If the pilot and copilot were both shot, then yes the plane would crash. Though it seems very unlikely that both would take a hit from several hundred yards away. Even with a fully automatic weapon you'd need to be able to hold it steady while spraying the cockpit. Maybe the engine would be a better target?

 

[xj0hnx]

Jesse Jackson is a retard. What does happen if you shoot a plane with that gun though?

It flies away.

 

[DCal430]

Regardless if these guns could take down a plane, weapons of mass murder capable of killing hundreds a minute do not belong in ordinary people's hands.

 

[Howard]

Shit, for some reason I was thinking Jesse Ventura. What in the world.

 

[klinc]

I'll grant I haven't spent a lot of time working on aircraft or studying how bullet resistant their windshields are, but based on what little research I have done today the question of whether an airliner's windshield is bulletproof is far from cut and dried. One of the things discussed after 9/11 was the idea of arming pilots and one of the major arguments against it was the possibility of shattering the windshield.

A quick search on "airliner broken windshield" on Google with dozens of incidents leads me to believe you may be overstating just how "indestructible" these windshields are.

Further, not every plane is an airliner, either.

Why go for pilot if you can clog a HEI into the fuel tanks of the plane?

 

[Abraxas]

Regardless if these guns could take down a plane, weapons of mass murder capable of killing hundreds a minute do not belong in ordinary people's hands.

You know, I oppose gun control but I spend most of my time discussing it arguing against people who also oppose it because of the incredibly stupid, dishonest, and hyperbolic arguments they use to support gun availability. They never admit it of course, but it is generally pretty clear.

Could you please admit you are being hyperbolic and that there are no guns that under normal circumstances will kill 200+ people in under 60 seconds in civilian hands?

 

[irishScott]

Regardless if these guns could take down a plane, weapons of mass murder capable of killing hundreds a minute do not belong in ordinary people's hands.

If you think you could "kill hundreds" in a minute with an AR-15, I have a bridge to sell you.

 

[xj0hnx]

Regardless if these guns could take down a plane, weapons of mass murder capable of killing hundreds a minute do not belong in ordinary people's hands.

"Rev" Jackson doesn't need any help making up stupid, ridiculous statements.

 

[drinkmorejava]

Nothing. Might leave a scratch. The blades you see are high bypass turbofan blades, not engine compressor blades.

And the blades are so large and made of such exotic hard materials that a 62 gr copper bullet would barely leave a scratch.

You couldn't take an airliner down with a .50 BMG let alone a 5.56. Planes are BIG.

There is a reason AA guns are 20+ mm and explosive.

WTF do they teach in school these days? Physics and engineering are clearly not priorities.

Fans aren't made of "exotic hard materials." They use Aluminum or Titanium. Newer GE/CFM engines use carbon composites. A rifle can definitely put a hole through one, but it probably won't be structurally compromised.

If you want some sort of comparison, anything that will shoot through a 1/4" plate of steel will definitely go through a fan blade.

 

[boomerang]

He might be right. He's smarter than a lot of folks because as far as I know, he has no real job. Travels all over the country. Dresses well. Had a mistress. He's got me beat all to hell.

 

[Incorruptible]

"Rev" Jackson doesn't need any help making up stupid, ridiculous statements.

He is more than stupid enough to come up with them himself. Why do people even listen to this guy? He is just a race hustler/baiter and likes to cause trouble for no reason. People need to ignore him and treat like him a child

 

[sourn]

Man I so want to be a politician.

It's one of the fewsjobs were you get to sit on your ass, bitch and moan, find shit to bitch and moan about, and never have to get shit done.

 

[EagleKeeper]

Man I so want to be a politician.

It's one of the fewsjobs were you get to sit on your ass, bitch and moan, find shit to bitch and moan about, and never have to get shit done.

but think of your morals and health.
Ass kissing and blowjobs to get to that level

 

[Darwin333]

Depends on the plane. I suppose you might have small odds of hitting a passenger if you use steel core bullets, but if the goal is mindless killing you're better off shooting at walking targets. As for bringing the plane down, MAYBE if you were magically able to take out both pilot and co-pilot as the plane was taking off. But that's only if you have perfect positioning, perfect aim, and perfect timing. Very perfect aim as the plane's nose would be tilted up, obscuring the cockpit.

Mechanically speaking, there's very little an AR-15 could do that could not be compensated for in-flight.

I am curious how much energy a 5.56 would still have after passing through the thick (pretty sure it is pretty damn thick) windshield of a passenger plane.

Besides, anyone with two brain cells to rub together who wanted to do that would never pick an AR. They would use something with much more power and reach.

 

[Darwin333]

But would is crash the plane? I sincerely doubt it.

I read that most modern airliners can in fact be landed by a non-pilot crew member or even a passenger rather easily. They basically have an "auto-pilot landing" button or some crap in which a computer lands the plane.

 

[Hayabusa Rider]

It's entirely possible if you pack-a-punch it twice.

 

[glenn1]

A few rounds into the cockpit at takeoff or landing would almost certainly have a detrimental effect as well.

Just force the aircraft to take off while on a treadmill; take that AR15! Until the AR15 sniper stands on his own treadmill to shoot, then we're all fvcked.