Plane flying after nose separates

[SRB]

In the case of TWA Flight 800, after the nose separated, the rest of the plane began to climb.  This makes sense, as there would’ve be a rearward shift of the center of mass, and the plane was already  trimmed to climb, with a high throttle setting.  But how come the plane didn’t pitch up so far that it stalled?

Edited December 26, 2019 by SRB
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[Guest]

Perhaps the change in the CoG's position wasn't significant enough to? Elevator trim changed during the explosion? Thrust was sufficient not to stall?

Edited December 25, 2019 by Guest

[SRB]

 

19 minutes ago, Aperture Science said:

Perhaps the change in the CoG's position wasn't significant enough to? Elevator trim changed during the explosion? Thrust was sufficient not to stall?

I’m not sure how much the CofG moved.

I know the plane was climbing, so it would been trimmed to climb and would have had a high power setting, but how much, or if the explosion moved the flight/power plant control cables, I don’t know.

 

[kerbiloid]

Spoiler

Inside the cabin:

 

[FleshJeb]

I love reading random NTSB reports--They're a masterclass in forensics and report writing.

The flightpath reconstruction begins on page 95.

https://www.ntsb.gov/investigations/AccidentReports/Reports/AAR0003.pdf

[RCgothic]

The accident investigation determined the aircraft was lost due to an explosion caused by electrical arcing in a fuel tank. I think it's in pretty poor taste to perpetuate alternate conspiracy theories such as the aircraft being hit by a missile.

[SRB]

7 hours ago, RCgothic said:

The accident investigation determined the aircraft was lost due to an explosion caused by electrical arcing in a fuel tank. I think it's in pretty poor taste to perpetuate alternate conspiracy theories such as the aircraft being hit by a missile.

I personally believe the NTSB theory, I was just was curious about the physics.

[WestAir]

I just looked at the old NTSB animations of the accident, ( https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZwcSGbvM6yc ) and from what's depicted, it looks like the aircraft entered a left turn before nose separation. My (uneducated) guess is that when the aircraft subsequently passed wings level in a shallow right roll, the trim that kept the aircraft stable in its left turn translated into a steep climb when nearing wings level. This right roll continues until crash into terrain, but would certainly be responsible for the nose up pitch depicted in the animation. Assuming, of course, that trim or elevator back pressure needed to keep positive climb in the left bank was maintained until impact with the bay.

I'm not sure the nose up pitch had much to do with the CoG or airflow change. Though someone who works with the Queen can feel free to correct me.