A pilot is flying a plane 20000 ft above the ground. The pilot begins a 2 descent to an airport runway. How far is the airplane from the start of the runway(in ground distance)

381623 ft

Step-by-step explanation:

Since the airport altitude is 20000 ft and the pilot needs a 2° descent, to calculate the distance of the airplane at the start of this approach, first this is represented in the diagram attached. The distance from the runway at the start is x.

The airplane is at a distance of 381623 ft away from the airplane runaway at the start of the descent.

9 x 8 divided by (5-3)=36