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It is definitely possible to lose an entire wing and still control the plane if the plane is capable of knife-edge flight. Check out these videos of it being done-- ending in amazingly successful landings -- with radio-controlled planes. Of course a full scale-plane would impact the ground with much more energy, but these videos suggest it still might be survivable. (Not in any commercial airliner, of course, and it would probably be long odds in a heavy military jet as well.)

However beware the well-known hoax video that purports to show something extremely similar with a full-scale airplane with the logo "KillaThrill" emblazoned on the side. It is actually a mix of full-scale and RC footage and no wing was actually lost by any plane in that video.

It's interesting to note that if you want to use a technique involving flight in a near-level bank attitude, then full-span ailerons are a disadvantage and may make it impossible. You want a powerful (wide-chord) aileron near the wingtip generating lots of downward roll torque, leaving the rest of the wing free to make positive lift.

It is definitely possible to lose an entire wing and still control the plane if the plane is capable of knife-edge flight. Check out these videos of it being done-- ending in amazingly successful landings -- with radio-controlled planes. Of course a full scale-plane being flown in this matter would impact the ground with much more energy in relation to the strength of the structure, but these videos suggest it still might be survivable at least with aircraft similar to the ones represented by the radio-controlled models. Of course, not in any commercial airliner, and the odds of success with this particular technique would surely be slim in a heavy military jet as well.

Also, beware the well-known hoax video that purports to show something extremely similar with a full-scale airplane with the logo "KillaThrill" emblazoned on the side. It is actually a mix of full-scale and RC footage and no wing was actually lost by any plane in that video.

It's interesting to note that if you want to use an alternative technique involving flight in a near-level bank attitude, then full-span ailerons are a disadvantage and may make it impossible. You want a powerful (wide-chord) aileron near the wingtip generating lots of downward roll torque, leaving the rest of the wing free to make positive lift.

It is definitely possible to lose an entire wing and still control the plane if the plane is capable of knife-edge flight. Check out these videos of it being done-- ending in amazingly successful landings -- with radio-controlled planes. Of course a full scale-plane would impact the ground with much more energy, but these videos suggest it still might be survivable. (Not in any commercial airliner, of course.)

However beware the well-known hoax video that purports to show something extremely similar with a full-scale airplane with the logo "KillaThrill" emblazoned on the side. It is actually a mix of full-scale and RC footage and no wing was actually lost by any plane in that video.

It's interesting to note that if you want to use a technique involving flight in a near-level bank attitude, then full-span ailerons are a disadvantage and may make it impossible. You want a powerful (wide-chord) aileron near the wingtip generating lots of downward roll torque, leaving the rest of the wing free to make positive lift.

It is definitely possible to lose an entire wing and still control the plane if the plane is capable of knife-edge flight. Check out these videos of it being done-- ending in amazingly successful landings -- with radio-controlled planes. Of course a full scale-plane would impact the ground with much more energy, but these videos suggest it still might be survivable. (Not in any commercial airliner, of course, and it would probably be long odds in a heavy military jet as well.)

However beware the well-known hoax video that purports to show something extremely similar with a full-scale airplane with the logo "KillaThrill" emblazoned on the side. It is actually a mix of full-scale and RC footage and no wing was actually lost by any plane in that video.

It's interesting to note that if you want to use a technique involving flight in a near-level bank attitude, then full-span ailerons are a disadvantage and may make it impossible. You want a powerful (wide-chord) aileron near the wingtip generating lots of downward roll torque, leaving the rest of the wing free to make positive lift.

It is definitely possible to lose an entire wing and still control the plane if the plane is capable of knife-edge flight. Check out these videos of it being done-- ending in amazingly successful landings -- with radio-controlled planes. Of course a full scale-plane would impact the ground with much more energy, but these videos suggest it still might be survivable. (Not in any commercial airliner, of course.)

However beware the well-known hoax video that purports to show something extremely similar with a full-scale airplane with the logo "KillaThrill" emblazoned on the side. It is actually a mix of full-scale and RC footage and no wing was actually lost by any plane in that video.

It is definitely possible to lose an entire wing and still control the plane if the plane is capable of knife-edge flight. Check out these videos of it being done-- ending in amazingly successful landings -- with radio-controlled planes. Of course a full scale-plane would impact the ground with much more energy, but these videos suggest it still might be survivable. (Not in any commercial airliner, of course.)

However beware the well-known hoax video that purports to show something extremely similar with a full-scale airplane with the logo "KillaThrill" emblazoned on the side. It is actually a mix of full-scale and RC footage and no wing was actually lost by any plane in that video.

It's interesting to note that if you want to use a technique involving flight in a near-level bank attitude, then full-span ailerons are a disadvantage and may make it impossible. You want a powerful (wide-chord) aileron near the wingtip generating lots of downward roll torque, leaving the rest of the wing free to make positive lift.