Question

The plane continued to descend, but leveled off to an angle of descent of 3° degrees for approximately 2 miles. How many feet did they drop in altitude (d)? Round to the nearest 10th.

Answer 1

ANSWER: Plane dropped 6097 feet in altitude.
BECAUSE: An airplane is at point A from where it continued to descend by 30° for an approximate distance of 2 miles
∠ACB = Angle of descent = 30°
Distance BC = 2 miles
Let the plane dropped the altitude = h miles
Now tan 30° =


h = 1.155 miles
h ≈ 1.16 miles
Since 1 mile = 5280 feet
1.15 miles = 5280×1.16 feet
= 6097 feet
Therefore, the plane dropped by 6097 feet vertically.