The Boeing 747 cargo jet conversion was the getaway airplane that Colonel Stuart and his men used to escape in, but it was foiled by John McClane after he lit the gas trail and blew it up killing all on board.
Description[]
Hangar 11 with the plane. The aircraft used in the film was an Evergreen Airlines 747 (registered N473EV)
The Boeing 747 is a wide-body commercial airliner and cargo transport aircraft, often referred to by its original nickname, Jumbo Jet, or Queen of the Skies. Its iconic "hump" upper deck along the forward part of the aircraft make it among the world's most recognizable aircraft and was the first wide-body produced. Manufactured by Boeing's Commercial Airplane unit in the United States, the original version of the 747 was two and a half times larger in capacity than the Boeing 707, one of the common large commercial aircraft of the 1960s. First flown commercially in 1970, the 747 held the passenger capacity record for 37 years.
The four-engine 747 uses a double deck configuration for part of its length. It is available in passenger, freighter and other versions. Boeing designed the 747's hump-like upper deck to serve as a first class lounge or extra seating, and to allow the aircraft to be easily converted to a cargo carrier by removing seats and installing a front cargo door. Boeing did so because the company expected supersonic airliners (development of which was announced in the early 1960s) to render the 747 and other subsonic airliners obsolete, while the demand for subsonic cargo aircraft would be robust well into the future. The 747 was expected to become obsolete after 400 were sold, but it exceeded critics' expectations with production passing the 1,000 mark in 1993. By July 2014, 1,500 aircraft had been built, with 51 of the 747-8 variants remaining on order.
The Boeing 747 jet explodes after McClane lights it up with his lighter.
The 747-400, the most common passenger version in service, has a high-subsonic cruise speed of Mach 0.85–0.855 (up to 570 mph or 920 km/h) with an intercontinental range of 7,260 nautical miles (8,350 mi or 13,450 km). The 747-400 passenger version can accommodate 416 passengers in a typical three-class layout, 524 passengers in a typical two-class layout, or 660 passengers in a high de
nsity one-class configuration. The newest version of the aircraft, the 747-8, is in production and received certification in 2011. Deliveries of the 747-8F freighter version to launch customer Cargolux began in October 2011; deliveries of the 747-8I passenger version to Lufthansa began in May 2012. The 747 is to be replaced by the Boeing Y3 (part of the Boeing Yellowstone Project) in the future.
Trivia[]
The Boeing 747 use in the Die Hard 2 movies as an escape plane for Colonel William Stuart, General Ramon Esperanza and the remainder of Major Grant's mercenaries was a Boeing 747-121F with registration number N473EV which was operated at that time by Evergreen International Airlines and was previously operated by Pan American World Airways and Trans World Airlines.
Evergreen International Boeing 747-121F N473EV which was use as the escape plane in Die Hard 2 Movies, shown in the picture after making an emergency landing following the severe turbulence incident that struck and detach its number 2 engine.
In the real-life, Evergreen International N473EV Boeing 747 was indeed involve in an air incident which occurred March 31, 1993 or three years after Die Hard 2 movies was released. The plane which at that time operated by Japan Airlines was struck by severe turbulence which resulting an the detachment of its number two engine. However the pilot of the plane managed to made an emergency landing at Alaska Anchorage International Airport, saving the life of everyone on-board. Following the incident, the plane managed to be repaired and returned to service and kept flying for Evergreen International Airlines until 1998 and was scrapped in 2001.
