'MIRACLE': Former F-22 test pilot analyzes alleged terrorism attempt on FlyDubai flight

. FOX NEWS AUDIO ON SiriusXM. AMERICA IS LISTENING. ♪ ♪. >> WE ARE LEARNING MORE ABOUT. THE COPILOT ACCUSED OF TRYING TO. HIJACK THAT FLYDUBAI PLANE AND. HIS REPORTED PLANS TO CRASH THE. AIRCRAFT INTO TEL AVIV'S BEN. GURION AIRPORT, REUTERS NOW. REPORTING THAT THE COPILOT. ATTEMPTED TO CARRY OUT A SIMILAR. PLOT EARLIER THIS YEAR, BUT THAT. PLAN, FOR REASONS THAT AT THE. MOMENT REMAIN UNCLEAR. MEANWHILE, NEW DETAILS SHOW JUST. HOW CLOSE THAT BOEING AIRCRAFT. CAME TO POTENTIALLY BREAKING. APART THE DRAMATIC NOSEDIVE. CAUSING THE 737 TO ACCELERATE TO.

NEARLY THE SPEED OF SOUND. RETIRED U.S. AIR FORCE BRIGADIER. GENERAL AND FORMER TEST PILOT, JOHN TUCKER HERE WITH US NOW. THE MAN WHO'S CROSSED THE FERRY. BETWEEN BEAR AND SPEED OF TIME, HUNDREDS OF TIME. SO HERE IS THE FLIGHT PATH THE. PLANE TAKES OFF AT 7:05 FROM. DUBAI, ROUTINE FLIGHT 777 MILES. OR SO COUPLE AND A HALF HOURS. UNTIL 9:21 AND EVERYTHING IS. GOING WELL, AND THEN SUDDENLY. THE PLANE GOES LIKE THIS. BUT WHAT KIND OF STRESS WERE ON.

THE PLANE GOING DOWN THAT FAST, WHICH WAS 50,600 FEET THAT. QUICKLY AND SPEED? >> JOHN, I CONSIDER IT A TRIPLE. AEROSPACE ENGINEERING. MIRACLE NUMBER ONE. THAT THERE SHOULD HAVE BEEN A. STRUCTURAL FAILURE. THE PLANE VASTLY EXCEEDED ITS. SPEED LIMITS. NUMBER TWO, SHOULD STRUCTURAL. FAILURE WHEN THE PLANE OUT OF. THE AGGRESSIVE DIVE. >> John: BECAUSE THEY WANTED TO. SHOW THAT RIGHT HERE IT COMES. DOWN AND THEN IT BALLOONS BACK. UP AGAIN, IT GAINS 5,000 FEET I.

>> SO THOSE STRESSES WOULD HAVE. BEEN SIGNIFICANT. AND NUMBER THREE, THE PLANE. SHOULD HAVE LOST CONTROL BECAUSE. AERODYNAMICS CHANGES. SUBSTANTIALLY AS YOU APPROACH. THE SPEED OF SOUND. NONE OF THOSE THINGS HAPPEN AT. TRIPLE AEROSPACE ENGINEERING. MIRACLE. BUT LET'S TAKE A LOOK AT THE. STATISTICS HERE. A PLANE AT WHICH TRANSLATE TO. 250 MILES AN HOUR AT ALTITUDE. IT WENT 9.96 MIKE. 3 DEGREES IS TYPICALLY THE. NORMAL THAT JUST TYPICAL. DESCENT IT WENT DOWN 39 DEGREES.

FOR 2 1/2 INTO POLAR THE MAXIMUM. RATING IS OR SORRY, THE MAXIMUM. RATING IS 2FG. IS. IT EXPERIENCED THREE G'S IN THE. PULLOUT. SO TELL ME MORE ABOUT THE IDEA. THAT AS YOU APPROACH THIS SPEED. OF SOUND, THE AIRCRAFT STARTS TO. BEHAVE DIFFERENTLY? JOHN, ABSOLUTELY. APPROACHING THE 39TH ANNIVERSARY. OF CHUCK YEAGER BREAKING THE. SPEED OF SOUND FOR THE FIRST. TIME, AND WHAT OTHER THINGS THEY. LEARNED IS THAT DYNAMICS CHANGES. SUBSTANTIALLY AS YOU GET. SOMEWHERE LIKE 0.9 TWO OR 92% OF. THE SPEED OF SOUND. THAT THE FLOW OVER THE AIRCRAFT.

AND SOME PLACES STARTS TO. APPROACH THE SPEED OF SOUND, AND. NOW THE CONTROL SURFACES ACT. DIFFERENTLY OR ARE FORCED TO BE. DESIGNED DIFFERENTLY BECAUSE THE. AIRFLOW IS SUBSTANTIALLY. DIFFERENT WE WERE ALREADY INSIDE. THAT ENVELOPE, WHICH IS ONE OF. THOSE MIRACLES THAT THE PLANE. DIDN'T GO OUT OF CONTROL AT THAT. POINT. >> John: SO THEY WOULD HAVE. OUTWARDLY EXPERIENCING THAT. ONE THING THEY DID EXPERIENCE IS. LOOK AT THIS. THIS IS THE RUDDER ON THE. STABILIZER OF THE AIRCRAFT. SIMILAR TO THIS ONE THAT LOOK AT. THIS. AFTER THAT, IT LOOKS LIKE. OSCILLATION OF THE RUDDER JUST. TORE APART?

>> YEAH, AND I'M AMAZED THAT. THIS IS THE ONLY STRUCTURAL. PROBLEM THEY FOUND IN OF THE. AIRCRAFT, AND THEY WERE ABLE TO. THEN MAINTAIN CONTROL AFTER THEY. GOT LEVELED OFF BECAUSE THEY HAD. TWO ENGINES OPERATING AND. BECAUSE THE AILERONS COULD DO A. LOT OF THE FUNCTIONS OF THE. RUDDER, BUT THAT IS SUBSTANTIAL. IT'S AMAZING THAT THAT'S THE. ONLY THING THAT REALLY WAS FOUND. ON. >> John: YOU KNOW, WHEN YOU TAKE. A LOOK BACK AT THE DIVE THAT IT. WAS IN, THIS IS TYPICALLY THE. ANGLE OF DESCENT IT WAS GOING. DOWN THIS FAR, AND WHEN YOU TAKE. A LOOK AT ALL OF THE DIFFERENT. STRUCTURES THAT HAD ALL OF THE.

DIFFERENT PRESSURES ON THEM AS. IT WAS APPROACHING THE SPEED OF. SOUND JUST DESCRIBE THAT FOR US. WELL, A LITTLE BIT, JOHN, AEROSPACE ENGINEERS DESIGNED. PLANES TO BE 50% STRONGER THAN. THEY NEED TO BE FOR THE NORMAL. OPERATING OF THEM. THEY LIKELY VASTLY EXCEEDED IT. BASED ON THOSE FACTORS THAT I. DESCRIBED. BUT ALL OF THESE FORCES THAT I. DID DESCRIBE ARE ACTING ON PARTS. OF THE PLANE WHERE IT WAS NOT. DESIGNED TO GO THAT FAST OR PULL. THAT MANY G'S OR GO THAT CLOSE. TO THE SPEED OF SOUND. THAT INCLUDES THE WINGS AND THE.

FUSELAGE AND THE TAIL AND THE. RUDDER AND THE ENGINES. ALL WERE IN ENVELOPE THAT IT. SHOULDN'T HAVE BEEN IN, AND WAS. DESIGNED TO BE, BUT YET IT. HELPED TOGETHER. >> John: SO IN TERMS OF GETTING. THE PLANE DOWN AND THEN GETTING. IT ON THE GROUND COVER. WE SAW THIS WITH THE PLANE CRASH. IN SIOUX CITY, IOWA, FOR THE. ENGINE AND THE TAIL HAD COME. APART. CUT THE HYDRAULIC SYSTEM, TRIGGER. THEY HAD TO USE DIFFERENTIAL. THRUST TO STEER THE PLANE AND. GET IT BACK DOWN TO THE GROUND. BUT THEY WOULD HAVE PROBABLY HAD. TO DO SOMETHING SIMILAR FOR THAT. WITH THIS AIRCRAFT. >> I THINK THAT THE RUDDER. FALLING APART TO SOME EXTENT WAS.

MINOR IN THE CONTROLLABILITY, BUT I THINK ONCE THEY GOT. LEVELED OFF, I SAY THAT BECAUSE. I WASN'T IN THE COCKPIT, BUT I. THINK THAT THEY WOULD HAVE. GOTTEN LEVELED OFF, AND AS THEY. WERE APPROACHING, THEN THEY. PROBABLY WOULD HAVE SLOWED DOWN. SOONER THAN NORMAL, AND DONE. SOME CONTROLLABILITY CHECKS TO. MAKE SURE AS THE PLANE SLOWED, IT WAS STILL UNDER CONTROL, LIKE. IT WAS AT CRUISING ALTITUDE, AND. I THINK THEY FOUND THAT FOR THE. MOST PART, IT DID MAINTAIN. NORMAL CONTROLLABILITY, AND. THAT'S WHY THEY WERE ABLE TO. LAND. >> John: THAT'S PRETTY.

REMARKABLE I JUST WANT TO COME. BACK TO THIS FOR A SECOND. THIS I FIND FASCINATING. THIS AREA HERE WHERE THE GUY. WENT INTO THIS WAS GENEVE, WENT. INTO THE COCKPIT, PULLED BACK, I. GUESS AS HARD AS HE COULD ON THE. YOKE. THAT'S WHEN THE PLANE GAINS. 5,000 FEET IN ALTITUDE AND. PROBABLY 30, 40s OR SO. YOU THOUGHT THAT THE PLANE MIGHT. HAVE COME APART RIGHT THEN. >> I DO, BECAUSE IF MY. INCLINATION AS A NON-PILOT WAS. TO SEE A BUNCH OF GROUND IN THE. PLANE THAT WAS ACCELERATING FAST. TOWARDS THAT GROUND, I WOULD. HAVE PULLED WITH ALL THAT I HAD,

BUT I THINK HE PROBABLY DIDN'T I. THINK HE PROBABLY LET OFF A. LITTLE BIT BECAUSE IF HE WOULD. HAVE PULLED WITH ALL HIS MIGHT, IT LIKELY WOULD HAVE FAR. EXCEEDED EVEN THE THREE G'S THAT. HE HIT AND THAT WOULD HAVE FAR. EXCEEDED STRUCTURAL CAPABILITIES. OF THE PLANE. >> John: WHAT WOULD HAVE. HAPPENED? >> THEY MIGHT HAVE GIVEN IT. MASSIVE STRUCTURAL FAILURE OF. FUSELAGE WINGS, TAILS ALL. FALLING APART AT THE SAME TIME. >> John: AND HIS OWN EXPERIENCE. IN DOING THIS WAS WATCHING. DISASTER MOVIES. >> I'M THAT GUY. >> John: HE REMAINS A HERO EVEN. THOUGH HE MIGHT HAVE PUT IN A. LITTLE EXT.