Thank you, all, for the responses.
I looked into this more and have a new theory. I saw several articles
mention the man was hit by a "bottle rocket". I thought they were talking
about the little pyrotechnic rockets you buy at a fireworks store. That
didn't make any sense, so I figured they had gotten the wrong information
and ignored it.
After reading these responses, though, it occurred to me they may have been
talking about a "water rocket" -- rockets made by putting water and
pressurized air in a 2 liter plastic soda pop bottle and shooting it off.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=spwkO0qaoK0
If that had a hard pointy tip, no recovery mechanism deployed, and didn't
expel all its water on the way up, that could be weighty enough to kill
someone if it hit them in an eye, temple, or carotid artery. If it was one
of the more advanced types that uses multiple plastic bottles connected
together (which go higher, have more water and more weight) that would
increase the potential lethality.
http://www.aircommandrockets.com/index.htm
Beyond the obvious human tragedy, it would be both sad and ironic if this
man's death was caused by a water rocket. If so, their image as being safe
and benign may need updating.
If anyone else has info or insights, feel free to chip in ...
Thanks,
Thom
On Tue, Nov 17, 2015 at 8:28 PM, Rick Dickinson <rtd@xxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
Just putting this in perspective - several people are killed every year by
being hit with baseballs, which are significantly "blunter" than model
rockets. Any head injury can be potentially fatal.
On November 17, 2015 5:51:04 PM PST, Chris Jones <clj@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:
--
On 11/17/2015 7:17 PM, Thom Vincent wrote:
Does anyone know about this? The news articles are not very
informative.
http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-man-killed-homemade-rocket-20151116-story.html
I'm trying to figure out how a model rocket can kill somebody by
simply flying in to their face.
It only takes an unlucky hit in the wrong place to kill. If the victim
got hit in the eye, it's not out of the question for the brain to be
injured. Even a strong blow to the head from a small mass can be fatal
in some circumstances. Also, anything moving fast enough that slices a
large enough blood vessel can cause death relatively quickly.
Sent from my Android device with K-9 Mail. Please excuse my brevity.
