# The indestructable box on airplanes **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [July 10, 2003, 7:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-indestructable-box-on-airplanes/187539 "2003-07-10T19:23:50Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Tarantula](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e274bd/32.png) [@Tarantula](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tarantula)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2003, 3:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-indestructable-box-on-airplanes/187539/21 "2003-07-23T15:03:13Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Rick \* > \*\*Furthermore even if you built the plane out of Unobtainum (the strongest material know to man) the it wouldn’t help much. the sudden stop at the end of the flight would still kill the softies inside the plane. (that’s you) > It just like the description of what happens when you fall off a cliff. It isn’t the fall that kills you, it’s the sudden stop at the end. \*\* You can just imagine them swinging open those huge heavy doors after the crash, and all this ragu with bits of hair floating in it, flows out onto the ground - gross… :barf smilie: ---
**Author:** ![Rick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/9f8e36/32.png) [@Rick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rick)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2003, 3:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-indestructable-box-on-airplanes/187539/22 "2003-07-23T15:12:13Z")
But hey look you could get someone with a very strong stomach to hose out the inside, dust off the outside and you could use the plane again. : Barf smilie: ---
**Author:** ![Trigonal\_Planar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/0ea827/32.png) [@Trigonal\_Planar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trigonal_Planar)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2003, 5:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-indestructable-box-on-airplanes/187539/23 "2003-07-23T17:31:41Z")
Hey, it worked for WWII tanks. ---
**Author:** ![Q.E.D](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/51bf81/32.png) [@Q.E.D](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.E.D)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2003, 5:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-indestructable-box-on-airplanes/187539/24 "2003-07-23T17:37:47Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Trigonal Planar \* > \*\*Hey, it worked for WWII tanks. \*\* Yes, but they aren’t known for cruising at 600+ MPH at 35,000 feet. ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2003, 10:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-indestructable-box-on-airplanes/187539/25 "2003-07-24T10:57:26Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Q.E.D. \* > \*\*Weight. An entire plane made out of steel would be extremely heavy and expensive to operate. Hmm… well, if the steel was a porportionally thick on the plane as for the black box, yes, but if the steel was only as thick as it needed to be to provide the proper in-flight structural strength…sure, it could fly. Would take a little more power than an aluminum or cloth plane, but it would fly just fine. In fact, I think there might have been a production airplane or two built largely of steel (early Beechcraft Baron? Don’t quote me - very vague recollection there). ---
**Author:** ![Q.E.D](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/51bf81/32.png) [@Q.E.D](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.E.D)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2003, 2:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-indestructable-box-on-airplanes/187539/26 "2003-07-24T14:23:26Z")
I didn’t say it _wouldn’t_ fly, I said it would be heavy, and expensive to do so. ---
**Author:** ![UncleBeer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/977dab/32.png) [@UncleBeer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UncleBeer)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2003, 9:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-indestructable-box-on-airplanes/187539/27 "2003-07-24T21:34:54Z")
But what if, in this theoretical airplane, I _jumped_ at the exact moment of impact? Snicker. ---
**Author:** ![sailor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a587f6/32.png) [@sailor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sailor)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2003, 9:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-indestructable-box-on-airplanes/187539/28 "2003-07-24T21:50:16Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Broomstick \* > Hmm… well, if the steel was a porportionally thick on the plane as for the black box, yes, but if the steel was only as thick as it needed to be to provide the proper in-flight structural strength…sure, it could fly. Would take a little more power than an aluminum or cloth plane, but it would fly just fine. In fact, I think there might have been a production airplane or two built largely of steel (early Beechcraft Baron? Don’t quote me - very vague recollection there). You might be able to build an airplane of steel which will fly but you cannot build an airplane which will fly AND not suffer any damage when flown into the side of a middle sized mountain. Heck, ships are build much more solidly and they will suffer a lot of damage if they hit a rock or another ship. You cannot build a practical ship which will not be damaged in a collision, much less an airplane. ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2003, 12:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-indestructable-box-on-airplanes/187539/29 "2003-07-25T00:32:59Z")
Fact remains, abuse any object enough it comes apart. Even those “black boxes” aren’t indestructable, as has been pointed out - the WTC pair went through a crash, a fire, and a major building collapse and simply didn’t survive. Sorry, we only figure on one catastrophic event, not three in a row! [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-indestructable-box-on-airplanes/187539.md?page=1)