By intentionally crashing a Cessna 172 aircraft into the ground, NASA hopes to develop next-gen search and rescue technology that optimizes current emergency locator transmitters, or ELTs. Oftentimes the severity of a crash will damage the ELTs, making an immediate emergency response to locate survivors much more difficult, if not impossible. So, up goes the Cessna, which plummets from 100 feet in the air and reaches speeds of about 55 mph on impact. Watch the experiments above.
NASA’s Intentional Plane Crashes
When small planes go down, it’s often alarmingly difficult to find them.
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