# What the hell hit this plane? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [July 7, 2008, 5:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-the-hell-hit-this-plane/455528 "2008-07-07T05:27:04Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 5\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Inigo\_Montoya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/inigo_montoya/32/124_2.png) [@Inigo\_Montoya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inigo_Montoya)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2008, 9:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-the-hell-hit-this-plane/455528/41 "2008-07-08T21:46:13Z")
Hancock? ---
**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 8, 2008, 10:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-the-hell-hit-this-plane/455528/42 "2008-07-08T22:15:56Z")
[QUOTE=samm] I thought I heard on the news last night that it happened at 18,000 feet, so they determined that it could not be a bird? [/QUOTE] Birds can fly that high. There’s a species of goose that migrates over Mount Everest at more than 26,000 feet. ---
**Author:** ![SpoilerVirgin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/4491bb/32.png) [@SpoilerVirgin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SpoilerVirgin)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2008, 10:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-the-hell-hit-this-plane/455528/43 "2008-07-08T22:37:48Z")
[QUOTE=beowulff] What happened to that ballon guy? [/QUOTE] The tragic outcome is being discussed [here](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=474646). ---
**Author:** ![chique](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/4491bb/32.png) [@chique](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chique)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2008, 11:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-the-hell-hit-this-plane/455528/44 "2008-07-08T23:38:07Z")
Tonight’s news said it was caused by some sort of structural defect - it collapsed by itself. Which, to me, is even weirder than a bird strike at 18k 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 9, 2008, 2:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-the-hell-hit-this-plane/455528/45 "2008-07-09T02:28:19Z")
Not really - some of the outer skin of an airplane is for streamlining purposes and not structural support. Such portions are not particularly strong - there is no need, and additional strength would only mean additional weight which is something you want to avoid in an aircraft. A nose cone does need to be strong enough to withstand the air pressure generated by forward travel, but that’s about it. In such a case, a structural defect, or damage that isn’t immediately apparent/visible, may result in the collapse of such a non-structural part, and it really shouldn’t impact safety, just cosmetics and, to a minor degree, efficiency of flight. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-the-hell-hit-this-plane/455528.md?page=2)