Could modern commercial Airliners be flown faster than the speed of sound
(Mach 1) if the pilots wished to do it?
Please consider modern commercial airliners as Boeing 727,737,747, 757
and 777 and the DC10 and Airbuses A310 , A320 , A321 and A340.
Thanks

Mongolia

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Clarification of Question by mongolia-ga on 21 Dec 2004 05:47 PST

Purple programmer feels the answer to my question is a definite no.!
(I am assuming he/she is saying that any of the airplane types I mentioned
 would simply disintegrate if the pilot tried to forced them to go
faster than Mach 1)
Pinkfreud appears to be saying a more qualified no. Could a Google
researcher  give me a more definitive answer?
Merci

Mopngolia

According to this article, there could be control problems:
 
"Pilots of high-altitude fast-moving aircraft are more concerned with
exceeding their maximum safe Mach number than they are with dynamic
pressure limitations such as never-exceed red lines. As an aircraft
approaches the speed of sound, the accelerated airflow over the top of
the wings will exceed the speed of sound before the aircraft's speed
through the air exceeds the speed of sound. The speed range in which
both subsonic and supersonic airflows exist over an aircraft is called
transonic. This is the speed range in which commercial jetliners
cruise. If a jetliner were to exceed a safe Mach number, the excessive
area of sonic airflow could result in a dangerous buffeting similar to
that of a stall. If this high-speed buffet increases, it can result in
aircraft-control problems. Most commercial airliners cruise at around
Mach 0.85."

http://www.womanpilot.com/past%20issue%20pages/2000%20issues/jan%20feb%202000/airspeed.htm

It is nothing to do with the pilots

- it is down to aircraft design

No.  The strength and control requirements of a supersonic airplane
are too specific to be stumbled on by chance, or implemented without
need.

The air around the leading edges of the airplane (the front of the
wings, and tail surfaces, for example) is thrust away so quickly that
a vacuum forms behind them.  This would leave the control surfaces
(aileron, rudder, elevator) without any air to work against.  The
vacuum "slamming shut" behind the airplane is what produces the sonic
boom.

As an example, SpaceShipOne has traditional flaps on the rear of the
wings for sub-sonic speeds, but when the craft reaches mach 1, the
front half, which isn't yet in the vacuum, also moves.

In addition, commercial airliners do not have enough power to sustain
mach 1.  A huge amount of power is required to break the sound
barrier; the power-to-speed is predictably logarithmic up to that
point.  It is possible that, with enough altitude, mach 1 could be
accomplished by diving, but an unsafe overspeed condition would occur
before that, and the airplane would shake to pieces.