Example sentence:
The plane went on a __ for a few minutes before crashing into the Pacific Ocean.
I thought the word was down dive or something like that. But a Google search told me that I was wrong.
What's the correct term to use here?
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2What the plane did would depend on the circumstances. It might glide, it might spiral down, it might plunge/dive or it might disintegrate/come apart.– Ronald SoleMay 7, 2017 at 11:59
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@RonaldSole So, "the plane went into a dive before crashing"?– alexMay 7, 2017 at 12:00
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1A dive implies that the aircraft is heading (almost) vertically down. But an aircraft that runs out of fuel might well glide for a great distance before crashing. Tailspin * and *spiral are ways of describing an aircraft's behaviour as it descends - although it may recover rather than crashing.– Ronald SoleMay 7, 2017 at 12:05
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If it took ten minutes it was probably not a dive or tailspin, unless the initial altitude was quite high.– Hot LicksMay 7, 2017 at 12:21
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1@HotLicks - it can be both..it just depends on the altitude.– user66974May 7, 2017 at 12:28
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1 Answer
- [ C usually singular ] a situation in which a plane turns round and round as it falls quickly towards the ground.
(Cambridge Dictionary)
Lit. [for an airplane] to lose control and spin to the earth, nose first.
- The plane shook and then suddenly went into a tailspin. The pilot was not able to bring the plane out of the tailspin, and it crashed into the sea.
(McGraw-Hill Dictionary of American Idioms and Phrasal Verbs
From Life of Bon
Or nosedive: (verb)
(of an aircraft) make a nosedive.
- ‘the plane nosedived into the ground and exploded’
(noun)
A steep downward plunge by an aircraft.
- ‘the pilot put the plane in a nosedive and ejecte
(ODO)
From Pinterest
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1If it took ten minutes to crash it was almost certainly not a nosedive, and likely not a tailspin. May 7, 2017 at 12:19
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1@HotLicks - the time depends on the altitude the plane was flying.– user66974May 7, 2017 at 12:26
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2@Josh a nosedive is too fast to take 10 minutes from any aircraft altitude. It would be faster than cruising speed, which is not far short of 600 mph, so in a sixth of an hour it would fall 100 miles. Above 62 miles is regarded as outside the atmosphere.– Chris HMay 7, 2017 at 12:36
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Pan Am 103 that crashed over Lockerbie in Scotland on 21/12/1988, after a bomb exploded in the hold, is reported to have taken 36" to hit the ground. theguardian.com/uk/2000/feb/27/lockerbie.life1 May 7, 2017 at 14:37