Producers of a Discovery Channel TV show recently crashed a Boeing 727 into a remote area of a Mexican desert, an act that was captured on amateur video and posted to YouTube:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zUNHW7McR5U
The point of the crash was to test the crash-worthiness of the plane, as well as the effects of a plane crash on the human body, and to see what might be done to increase survivability in the event of future (real) crashes.
From Discovery:
A Boeing 727 passenger jet has been deliberately crash-landed in a remote and uninhabited Mexican desert as part of a scientific experiment for an unprecedented international television documentary for Discovery Channel, Channel 4 in the UK, plus Pro Sieben in Germany. The pilot ejected the 170-seat aircraft just minutes before the collision after setting it on a crash course, it was then flown remotely from a chase plane. The crash went according to plan and there were no injuries or damage to property.<br/> <br/> Rather than carrying passengers, the plane was packed with scientific experiments, including crash test dummies. Dozens of cameras recorded the crash from inside the aircraft, on the ground, in chase planes and even on the ejecting pilot's helmet. The program is being made by award-winning British production company Dragonfly Film and Television Productions.<br/> <br/> The project aims to recreate a serious, but survivable, passenger jet crash landing with a real aircraft in order to allow an international team of experts to study the crashworthiness of the aircraft's airframe and cabin as well as the impact of crashes on the human body, plus possible means of increasing passenger survivability and evaluating new 'black box' crash-recording technology.
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Following the crash, the aircraft will be salvaged and an extensive environmental clean-up operation is being carried out by a reputable agency with the full co-operation of the Mexican authorities.