The NYPD claim that they could shoot down a hijacked airliner, like the ones used on 9/11, by firing at one with a 0.50 rifle from a helicopter.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/44666835/
On first glance, it sounds like a load of complete bull. The Boeing 767 that was hijacked to hit one of the towers has a maximum cruising speed of 493 knots. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boeing_767
A typical police helicopter has a maximum cruising speed of 140 knots. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bell_412
That doesn't even include the altitude limits. Police helicopters don't have pressurized cockpits, and the Bell 412 (one of the newer choppers the NYPD has purchased that I am using for reference) has a service ceiling of 20,000 feet, compared to a far higher ceiling for a jet.
So even if the police helicopter managed to get close enough to the jet to be in rifle range, in the best case scenario (helicopter chasing the jet) the jet would gain 5 miles of distance every minute. So the firing window for shooting the barett would be a matter of seconds...I would guess about 10-20 seconds is the best one could hope for.
I've never shot the semi-auto barett, but that doesn't sound like you could make more than 2-3 shots that would even have a chance of hitting the jet.
Could 2-3 rounds take down a boeing 767? It sounds highly implausible. You'd have to get a 1 in 1000 shot and hit the avionics, the control cables, BOTH engines, the pilots, etc. That's a tiny, tiny fraction of the overall target. Not to mention that firing from a moving helicopter, in exotic wind conditions...nope.
I call B.S. Now, if the NYPD had ordered some man portable anti aircraft missiles, that might be a different story. (missiles would still have the same difficulty getting into range but at least they
would home in on the engines and the warhead is designed to destroy aircraft. Plus, how would you fire one from inside a helicopter without getting burned by the backblast?)
Let' suppose the NYPD chief actually bought some Stinger missiles. Take a look at this page from the manual for the missile http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/library/policy/army/fm/44-18-1/Ch2.htm
Note the backblast area? Fire that inside a helicopter, and explosion might blow the operator out the open door, give third degree burns to everyone inside, blind the pilot, and the helicopter would probably crash killing all aboard.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/44666835/
On first glance, it sounds like a load of complete bull. The Boeing 767 that was hijacked to hit one of the towers has a maximum cruising speed of 493 knots. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boeing_767
A typical police helicopter has a maximum cruising speed of 140 knots. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bell_412
That doesn't even include the altitude limits. Police helicopters don't have pressurized cockpits, and the Bell 412 (one of the newer choppers the NYPD has purchased that I am using for reference) has a service ceiling of 20,000 feet, compared to a far higher ceiling for a jet.
So even if the police helicopter managed to get close enough to the jet to be in rifle range, in the best case scenario (helicopter chasing the jet) the jet would gain 5 miles of distance every minute. So the firing window for shooting the barett would be a matter of seconds...I would guess about 10-20 seconds is the best one could hope for.
I've never shot the semi-auto barett, but that doesn't sound like you could make more than 2-3 shots that would even have a chance of hitting the jet.
Could 2-3 rounds take down a boeing 767? It sounds highly implausible. You'd have to get a 1 in 1000 shot and hit the avionics, the control cables, BOTH engines, the pilots, etc. That's a tiny, tiny fraction of the overall target. Not to mention that firing from a moving helicopter, in exotic wind conditions...nope.
I call B.S. Now, if the NYPD had ordered some man portable anti aircraft missiles, that might be a different story. (missiles would still have the same difficulty getting into range but at least they
would home in on the engines and the warhead is designed to destroy aircraft. Plus, how would you fire one from inside a helicopter without getting burned by the backblast?)
Let' suppose the NYPD chief actually bought some Stinger missiles. Take a look at this page from the manual for the missile http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/library/policy/army/fm/44-18-1/Ch2.htm
Note the backblast area? Fire that inside a helicopter, and explosion might blow the operator out the open door, give third degree burns to everyone inside, blind the pilot, and the helicopter would probably crash killing all aboard.
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