[johanbev]

I hope they are judged harshly for this incident. If they are blasting cannon balls through peoples houses and cars they have no control of what they are doing. Sending balls of cast iron through habitated areas cannot be dismissed as an "unfortunate incident". In my country (Norway) you'd immediately get arrested and charged if you fired a live cannon outside a big millitary shooting range. I certainly hope that their celebrity status won't impede justice in this case.

[a-priori]

In my country (Norway) you'd immediately get arrested and charged if you fired a live cannon outside a big millitary shooting range.

They did fire this in a "big military shooting range". The problem is that it didn't stay confined to the range.

Actually I'd say the range is at least partly responsible for this. They shouldn't have allowed a cannon to be fired that had the energy to go beyond the confines of the range.

[sp332]

They are at a firing range, it says right in the article "Camp Parks Military Firing Reservation". Apparently the cannonball hit one or two hills before entering the town. They weren't even firing in the direction of the town.

[johanbev]

Apparently not big enough then. This was a lucky case. Wern't and apparently couldn't have undone any bodily harm that was caused.

If they indeed were several kilometers from anyone else, then they have miscalculated the ballistic trajectores so gravely that it's completely mindboggling to think of how these guys were allowed to play with explosives in the first place.

While I do like some of the MB Episodes, I'm not a fan of blowing up things with oversized explosions in general. Please note that explosives are dangerous. Leave it to professional use. Playing with fire will eventually get you burnt.

Accidents do happen, no one is infallible, but one should really go to the utmost of efforts when it comes to blowing stuff up or launching heavy projectiles into the air at great speed. At least if accidents happen because explosives were used for something useful, say, construction, then one could at least think that the damage or bodily harm was for a greater good, even though that is by all means a meagre comfort. However, when these sort of things happen for the entertainment (and the profits of the show, mind you!) of others, then something is really really wrong.

[sp332]

They weren't lucky, they were unlucky. This never happens. This is a military firing range. Do you know how many requirements had to be fulfilled for the range to be built? and the regulations they have to follow for safety? "miscalculated the ballistic trajectories" They didn't miscalculate, the cannonball struck the hill, as planned. They didn't plan for it to basically bounce off in a different direction. The trajectory is not the issue. "Leave it to professional use" They are professionals with many years of experience, and they were surrounded by more professionals. "go to the utmost of efforts" If building a firing range in the middle of the desert and firing toward a hill, away from the direction of any towns, isn't enough then what is?

[robotresearcher]

The standard approach is to place the cannon such that no trajectory with the energy of the projectile can hit anything important. That's why huge ranges like the Canadian Forces Base Suffield exist [2,690 km2 (1,040 sq mi)]. The the only dangerous variable is the energy you put in, and not the direction you point the gun, unlucky bounces, etc.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CFB_Suffield

[johanbev]

They are obviously not professional enough. Either the MB team, or the range supervisors, or anyone else in that chain.

If your range is situated so close to populated areas that you can fire a projectile from a makeshift cannon out of the bounds of the range, then get a bigger range. Or a smaller gun. I have no idea how big their range is. However, it was apparently not big enough.

I don't know if the ball hit the hill or the sky or a bird on the way or anything else that might have happened. I weren't there. I also obviously understand that they didn't plan for the ball to go though those houses. However intentions does not change facts. Neither do regulations nor safety procedures, nor requirements.

If you cause an accident then you havent gone to the utmost of efforts in preventing it. The utmost of efforts might also include not doing it at all.

[Natsu]

Nobody is professional enough to screw up 0% of the time. It is not possible to plan for everything, ever.

> The utmost of efforts might also include not doing it at all.

So, I should never drive again lest I have a car accident? I understand that you're saying that the reward for this is zero so they shouldn't take any risks at all. But you're extrapolating the risk from a sample size of one and exaggerating it.

I'm sure you wouldn't blame someone for driving to the movies, even if that caused a car accident. And one could just as easily said that they should've stayed home because the drive was unnecessary and cars are, in fact, dangerous.

[signa11]

>They weren't lucky, they were unlucky. exactly right ! these are too careful, and would normally have officials from local emergency services and experts in hand when they do this. they may be financially responsible for the damage, which might be adequately covered by their insurance, but hopefully no criminal charges...

[doktrin]

What indicates the cannonball struck the hill at all?

The article only mentions it went 'over' the foothills. It presumably could have bounced off, but that doesn't seem to be corroborated.

At the end of the day, whatever precautions were in place were clearly not sufficient. You don't shoot cannonballs into residential neighborhoods and go "oops".

[sp332]

Hm, I see, I might have misread this one: http://losangeles.cbslocal.com/2011/12/06/tv-experiment-goes...

[Luyt]

The correct link is http://losangeles.cbslocal.com/2011/12/07/tv-experiment-goes...

They changed the date in the URL.

[yock]

Not to be overlooked is that they were on a military shooting range.

[xd]

They would have been at a bomb range .. and funny as it may seem, accidents do happen. Wait for the full report before slamming the book on them.

[Step]

Exactly. I'm a little appalled at the rampant speculation, the apologetics in Mythbuster's favor, and the blind raging and blaming against them. We need to know the actual facts of what went wrong before we can make any determination of: a - who was at fault b - what actions are reasonable to ensure this never happens again c - what repercussions might be appropriate

For all any of you know, there was a bad mix of powder. Or a mislabeled measuring cup. Or a rusty screw that broke loose at the exact wrong moment and allowed an unexpected pivot in the cannon. Those are nonsense reasons of course - we simply don't know yet what actually went wrong at the firing range.

[Karunamon]

Re: the apologetics in Mythbuster's favor, keep in mind, these guys are pretty damned rigorous when it comes to safety. Fire and EMS on site, clearing their experiments with local authorities, etc. Having them take the piss with something of this magnitude seems highly unlikely.

[mindcrime]

It was a freaking accident, dude. Accidents happen. Nobody likes it, and nobody is making excuses for them. But sometimes you have to acknowledge that you can't control everything. From the sounds of things they took what should have been the necessary precautions, including doing the test at a military firing range.

I'm not saying they shouldn't be held accountable for the outcome of their actions or anything. Of course they should. And they should be expected to learn something from this incident that will prevent something like this from happening again. But there's absolutely no point in crucifying them over this.

_I certainly hope that their celebrity status won't impede justice in this case._

"Justice" in this case would be paying for the damage they caused. I'd be highly surprised if that doesn't happen. I mean, surely they have insurance to cover things like this???

[phamilton]

They DID fire it in a big military shooting range.