2012 Boeing 727 crash experiment

In April 2012, a retired Boeing 727 was deliberately crashed in the Sonoran Desert near Mexicali, Mexico, as a full-scale survivability test for an international television production. Outfitted with cameras, instruments, and crash test dummies, the aircraft was flown part of the way by a human crew to satisfy Mexican authorities, then remotely guided from a chase plane after the crew parachuted out. The impact destroyed major sections of the jet and provided findings on crash survival, especially the importance of seat location, the mixed effects of the brace position, and the way cabin interiors can collapse and hinder evacuation. In later years, much of the wreck remained visible near Federal Highway 5 before most was scrapped.

Baja California · Mexico