Posted by Dr. Science on 08/04/2014 in
Question |
I once saw a Bugs Bunny cartoon where an airplane was going to crash, you know, but it ran out of gas before it hit the ground and that prevented it from crashing. Could this really happen?
———- from Penny ofSky King Ranch, Arizona
Yes, Penny, it happens all the time. Only the airlines don’t like to admit they’ve taken advantage of this unique property of nature known as the “Second Chance of Aviation.” Cartoonists, on the other hand, take poetic licence freely, being unconstricted by either the natural laws of science or the FAA. So rest assured that the airlines cannot deliberately use poetic licence as a normal practice. But the next time you hear a stewardess speaking in couplets, fasten your seat belt. Just in case, of course.