Question

A passenger in an airplane looks out the window and spots the airport in the distance. The angle of depression to the airport is 63°, and the airplane is flying at 18,000 feet. What is the horizontal distance to the airport?

Answer 1

9514 1404 393

Answer:

about 9171 feet

Explanation:

It can help to draw a diagram.

The relation between angle, opposite side, and adjacent side in a right triangle is ...

Tan = Opposite/Adjacent

tan(63°) = (18000 ft)/(horizontal distance)

horizontal distance = (18000 ft)/tan(63°) ≈ 9171 ft

The horizontal distance to the airport is about 9171 feet.