http://www.accessone.com/~rivero/CRASH/TWA/CIAVIDEO/ciavideo.html " Aircraft with natural stability, whether a toy glider, a Cessna, or a 747, achieve that stability by designing the aircraft so that the center of gravity is slightly foreward of the center of lift. The plane is balanced by the pressure of the tail downward, called the "tail drag". By keeping the aerodymic center (the wings) aft of the center of gravity, the plane is kept naturally stable. It will fly with the nose foreward. The same with the flights of a dart or the fletching on an arrow. The stable configuration is with the aerodynamic center to the rear of the center of gravity. With the exception of modern combat CCV aircraft, which require computer control to maintain stability, all aircraft, from the Wright Flyer to the Space Shuttle, follow these same principles. Without the nose, the center of gravity of the aircraft would move aft of the aerodynamic center. Continued level flight in that configuration is an impossability. Trying to fly a 747 without it's nose would be like trying to throw a dart backwards. Both would tumble, trying to swap ends. In the case of the 747, the wings, even if they did not tear off while flat on to the 340 knot airstream, would lose all lift, and gravity would take over. "