Please help!
An observer (O) spots a plane (P) taking off from a local airport and flying at a 33° angle horizontal to her line of sight and located directly above a tower (T). The observer also notices a bird (B) circling directly above her. If the distance from the plane(P) to the tower (T) is 7,000 ft., how far is the bird (B) from the plane (P)?

Question

Please help!
An observer (O) spots a plane (P) taking off from a local airport and flying at a 33° angle horizontal to her line of sight and located directly above a tower (T). The observer also notices a bird (B) circling directly above her. If the distance from the plane(P) to the tower (T) is 7,000 ft., how far is the bird (B) from the plane (P)?

yanasidlinskiy · Answer

Neglecting the height of the tower, draw the figure and you will find that: 
sin 33 = planes height / distance of plane to bird, So 
distance = 7000(sin 33) ≈ 3815 ft