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Man killed when car plunges into Grand Canyon
CNN ^ | July 14, 2009

Posted on 07/14/2009 9:33:55 AM PDT by rdl6989

A man died after his car plunged 600 feet off the edge of the Grand Canyon's South Rim, authorities said Tuesday. The Arizona park's regional communications center received several reports of a car driving off the edge about 6 a.m. Monday, according to a written statement.

"Upon arriving at the scene, investigators found tire tracks leading to the edge behind the Thunderbird Lodge and received reports of a single occupant in a blue passenger car driving over the edge," the statement said.

Rescue personnel descended on ropes and found the vehicle about 600 feet into the canyon. The man's body was recovered shortly afterward, the statement said.

The incident occurred near the El Tovar hotel in a village on the canyon's South Rim, park spokeswoman Shannan Marcak said.

Authorities have not ruled the death a suicide, she said. "It has not been ruled anything at this time."

The statement said the National Park Service is investigating. Typically, Marcak said, such investigations take at least a few days.

(Excerpt) Read more at cnn.com ...


TOPICS: Extended News; US: Arizona
KEYWORDS: grandcanyon; terminalvelocity
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To: Lonesome in Massachussets

They did it on the moon with a feather and a hammer. Both hit the lunar surface at the same time .


101 posted on 07/14/2009 10:57:00 AM PDT by Renegade (You go tell my buddies)
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To: bill1952

If you assume “assuming no increase in speed during the fall...” then he’d still be floating in the air at 600 ft.


102 posted on 07/14/2009 10:57:24 AM PDT by pelican001
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To: bill1952
>>>assuming no increase in speed during the fall...<<<

Repealing the Law of Gravity? Even Obama hasn't attempted that!!

103 posted on 07/14/2009 10:58:59 AM PDT by HardStarboard ("The urge to save humanity is almost always a false front for the urge to rule - Mencken knew Obama)
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To: pelican001

Then you are assuming no fall at all.

Be logical


104 posted on 07/14/2009 10:59:13 AM PDT by bill1952 (Choice is an illusion created between those with power - and those without)
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To: Lonesome in Massachussets

Bullets , espec. 30.06 are designed to limit drag . Hence the design of the Bell X-1 that was first to break the sound barrier .


105 posted on 07/14/2009 10:59:47 AM PDT by Renegade (You go tell my buddies)
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To: Peter Horry

You know what I meant. Quit nitpicking. The forward motion doesn’t stop but the 40 MPH no longer holds because the power to the wheels is no longer pushing the car, hence it begins to slow down immediately, that is what I meant and you know that.


106 posted on 07/14/2009 11:00:26 AM PDT by calex59
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To: HardStarboard

the acceleration during 6 or so seconds isn’t worth the time to calculate it...


107 posted on 07/14/2009 11:00:35 AM PDT by bill1952 (Choice is an illusion created between those with power - and those without)
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To: Lonesome in Massachussets
Ok, smarty pants. Assuming the front wheels starting falling before the rear, what was the rotation rate about the pitch axis and what was his pitch angle at impact?

I think it was a one and a half with a tripple twist hand and face first entry.



I think he lost points for the splash on entry.
108 posted on 07/14/2009 11:03:21 AM PDT by PA Engineer (Liberate America from the occupation media.)
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To: FreepShop1

Time of intersection (assuming no other force affect it) would remain the same, point of intersection would change.


109 posted on 07/14/2009 11:04:12 AM PDT by Peter Horry (Never were abilities so much below mediocrity so well rewarded - John Randolph)
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To: Old Professer

What was the car’s mass? What was the driver’s mass, and the mass of gas, fluids and anything else in the car? At what angle did the car fall and what is the drag coefficient and surface area at that angle? What was the angle of launch? Is it flat, downhill or uphill towards the edge?

Even with that I can’t do right. Cars tend to fall somewhat flat on their bellies, but shift around as they go, constantly changing the drag. My estimate of time, speed and distance is completely off if the terminal velocity is less than the straight gravity-based calculation.


110 posted on 07/14/2009 11:04:20 AM PDT by antiRepublicrat
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To: 3niner
This works out to a bit over 6 seconds, ignoring air friction. Call it 7, and you'll probably be pretty close.

Damn, that is a long time.

111 posted on 07/14/2009 11:04:53 AM PDT by FreepShop1
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To: Renegade

I doubt that the terminal velocity of a 30.06 slug is 1500 fps, mach 1.5.


112 posted on 07/14/2009 11:07:25 AM PDT by Lonesome in Massachussets (AGWT is very robust with respect to data. All observations confirm it at the 100% confidence level.)
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To: rdl6989
He should have read the book, Over the Edge: Death in Grand Canyon, by Ghiglieri & Myers
113 posted on 07/14/2009 11:08:07 AM PDT by mountainbunny (Mitt Romney & his sons: members of the 1st Winnebago Motor Home Brigade, aka "The Fightin' RVs")
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To: PA Engineer
I think he lost points for the splash on entry.

East German judge is bitch.

114 posted on 07/14/2009 11:08:37 AM PDT by Lonesome in Massachussets (AGWT is very robust with respect to data. All observations confirm it at the 100% confidence level.)
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To: HardStarboard

You forgot to account for lift. The faster you go, the longer the tailfins hold you up ;)


115 posted on 07/14/2009 11:10:33 AM PDT by Lonesome in Massachussets (AGWT is very robust with respect to data. All observations confirm it at the 100% confidence level.)
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To: Lonesome in Massachussets; MikeWUSAF; antiRepublicrat; FreepShop1
How'd I do?

You fail.

That's not very nice.

It's deferred success.

116 posted on 07/14/2009 11:13:13 AM PDT by synbad600
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To: antiRepublicrat

Post 110

LOL, Eviel Kneivel had a lot to consider when staging his stunts, then he bet his life on the results. Seems though, based on his many injuries, that he did make occasional errors.


117 posted on 07/14/2009 11:39:52 AM PDT by Peter Horry (Never were abilities so much below mediocrity so well rewarded - John Randolph)
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To: calex59

“You know what I meant. Quit nitpicking. “

Sorry, if I took you out of context, there’s a lot of that going around.


118 posted on 07/14/2009 11:43:24 AM PDT by Peter Horry (Never were abilities so much below mediocrity so well rewarded - John Randolph)
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To: calex59
The 40 MPH quits as soon as the wheels leave the ground...

No...

119 posted on 07/14/2009 11:47:31 AM PDT by Onelifetogive (See www.buyingapuppy.com for News on Dogs and Puppies)
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To: rdl6989

One thing is for sure...he got a look at the Canyon that the rest of us will certainly miss out on...


120 posted on 07/14/2009 11:52:12 AM PDT by who knows what evil? (G-d saved more animals than people on the ark...www.siameserescue.org.)
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