[Grammar] ‘come down’ VS ‘go down’

[northpath]

There are two sentences from a good dictionary:
The plain came down a few minutes after its take-off.
We watched as the airplane went down in a fiery blaze.
Are the phrasal verbs ‘come down’ and ‘go down’ interchangeable in this context?

 

[Rover_KE]

A good dictionary wouldn't misspell 'plane'. Please name the dictionary.

 

[jutfrank]

As you know, come and go have different meanings. come means towards the speaker.

 

[northpath]

Sorry for misprinting. These are exact sentences from the Macmillan dictionary online:
The plane came down in a field, killing both the pilot and his passenger.
We watched as the airplane went down in a fiery blaze.
The question remains the same: Are the phrasal verbs ‘come down’ and ‘go down’ interchangeable in this context?

 

[jutfrank]

It depends on what you mean by "interchangeable". Both forms can fit in both sentences, yes, and the action of the plane is the same. The subtle difference is in the perception of the speaker.

It is very rare that two words are interchangeable without there being some kind of difference, so be clear about what you want to learn when you ask that question.