Question: Why does the helicopter explode at the end? Did the high-tension electrical wire set it off? I never see it hit the chopper, no matter how many times I see the scene. Or does he fact that the helicopter blades hit the pole have something to do with it?
Bishop73
1st Mar 2005
Die Hard: With a Vengeance (1995)
Answer: The sparks seen above the helicopter is meant to be the live wire wrapping around the blades. The helicopter does try to avoid the wire, but it's too late. If you look closely, it doesn't seem like the helicopter hit the pylon, maybe the blades knick it. But the helicopter explodes while in the air before it hit the ground.
8th Jan 2021
Die Hard: With a Vengeance (1995)
Question: When Zeus is on the phone with Simon in the subway, Zeus says that McClane was on his way. Simon responds that they weren't playing by the rules, hangs up and a few moments later the bomb goes off. McClane states that Simon wanted the subway bomb to go off. Why would McClane think it was Simon's intention to have the bomb go off whether they both show up or not?
Answer: Because Simon basically gave them an impossible task. Given NYC traffic, getting 90 blocks in 30 minutes is a Sisyphean task.
4th May 2018
Die Hard: With a Vengeance (1995)
Question: When McClane and his boss are in the van with the FBI agents and Gruber guesses who of the FBI is in the van there is a man sitting in the back. Who is he and why doesn't Gruber guess he is in the car as well?
Answer: He is actor Richard Russell Ramos and he's credited as FBI Chief. Simon does allude he's there because he uses the plural "FBI agents" and Jarvis is not from the FBI. However, it seems Simon's point is made that he knows who is in the van because he's watching them. There was just no need to identify everyone in the van.
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Answer: Willis' character shot the power lines, which fell from the pole and got tangled up in the helicopter blades. Since the blades couldn't spin, the helicopter fell from the air and exploded as it hit the ground.
That's not what happened. John shot the power lines and in an effort to avoid them the helicopter pilot clipped a pole which took them down.