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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.

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.

sp332 15y ago
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 15y ago
  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 15y ago
    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?
    - signa11 15y ago
      >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 15y ago
      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 15y ago
        Hm, I see, I might have misread this one: http://losangeles.cbslocal.com/2011/12/06/tv-experiment-goes-awry-sends-cannonball-rocketing-through-homes/ http://losangeles.cbslocal.com/2011/12/06/tv-experiment-goes...
        Luyt 15y ago
        The correct link is http://losangeles.cbslocal.com/2011/12/07/tv-experiment-goes-awry-sends-cannonball-rocketing-through-homes/ http://losangeles.cbslocal.com/2011/12/07/tv-experiment-goes... They changed the date in the URL.
a-priori 15y ago
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.
phamilton 15y ago
They DID fire it in a big military shooting range.
xd 15y ago
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 15y ago
  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 15y ago
    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.
yock 15y ago
Not to be overlooked is that they were on a military shooting range.
deleted 15y ago
[deleted]
mindcrime 15y ago
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???

sp332 15y ago

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 15y ago
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 15y ago
  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?
  - signa11 15y ago
    >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 15y ago
    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 15y ago
      Hm, I see, I might have misread this one: http://losangeles.cbslocal.com/2011/12/06/tv-experiment-goes-awry-sends-cannonball-rocketing-through-homes/ http://losangeles.cbslocal.com/2011/12/06/tv-experiment-goes...
      - Luyt 15y ago
        The correct link is http://losangeles.cbslocal.com/2011/12/07/tv-experiment-goes-awry-sends-cannonball-rocketing-through-homes/ http://losangeles.cbslocal.com/2011/12/07/tv-experiment-goes... They changed the date in the URL.

a-priori 15y ago

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.

phamilton 15y ago

They DID fire it in a big military shooting range.

xd 15y ago

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 15y ago
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 15y ago
  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.

yock 15y ago

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

deleted 15y ago

[deleted]

mindcrime 15y ago

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???