MSNBC and its experts
February 18th, 2010
WTF? MSNBC asks expert if this plane that hit the IRS would be like an SUV hitting it. He replies yes, but an SUV would hit it on the ground
Discussion (3)¬
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"If this Cessna were a tree falling from the sky, what kind of tree would it be?"
I'm relatively relieved at the degree of interest* I've had in this news story, myself.
*Which is to say, very slight.
It might be more useful to put this crash in terms of elephants on roller skates. Or clowns slipping on banana peels. Or coconuts that fall upon the head of a castaway on a desert island.
I haven't seen that MSNBC video. However, maybe the point they were trying to establish is that a small plane weighs only as much as an SUV, and much less than a large airliner. CNN reports the FAA saying the aircraft in this attack was a Piper Cherokee PA-28. The PA-28's I know are limited to a maximum weight of 2325 lbs, including 48 gallons of fuel and the pilot.
So, in terms of mass and fuel carried, this attack would be more like an SUV ramming the building than a big rig truck full of explosives, or a Boeing 767 loaded with fuel. The building will probably not collapse from this encounter.
So the SUV analogy is actually useful in providing a context for understanding the damage. I can understand the anchor and the expert fumbling the wording, though.