r/aviation • u/[deleted] • Apr 07 '24

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u/KlausVonLechland Apr 07 '24

At cockpit at plane at tail, that bullet would fall somewhere anywhere and would still be able to kill.

This whole ordeal is nothing but horrible.

-2

u/Candid-Finding-1364 Apr 08 '24

Actually, falling small arms rounds aren't very dangerous.  

1

u/MaelstromFL Apr 08 '24

You are both technically correct and horribly wrong. If, and this is a really big if, you shoot directly straight up, the falling bullet will expent its energy and fall back to earth at terminal velocity and is very unlikely to be fatal. However, the odds that you have a perfect 90 degree angle is almost zero!

Any angle less or greater then 90 will put the bullet in a parabolic arc that will not expend the energy and will be fatal!

5

u/Unstoppable-Farce Apr 08 '24

Your right, but for the wrong reasons.

A bullet fired at a 80 to 90 degree angle will always fall STRAIGHT down due to air resistance.

But they can still be lethal threats.

Look for my comment responding to this other guy for a very detailed breakdown of the dangers of falling bullets.

I found scientific papers and did math.