To find the horizontal distance from the point directly beneath the plane to the airport tower, we can use the tangent of the angle of depression. The angle of depression from the pilot to the tower is 32°, and the altitude of the plane is 12,000 m.
In right triangle trigonometry, the tangent of an angle is given by:
\[ \tan(\theta) = \frac{\text{opposite}}{\text{adjacent}} \]
Where:
- The "opposite" side is the altitude of the plane (12,000 m).
- The "adjacent" side is the horizontal distance from the point directly beneath the plane to the tower (let's call this \(X\)).
From the problem, we can write:
\[ \tan(32°) = \frac{12,000}{X} \]
Now, we can rearrange this to solve for \(X\):
\[ X = \frac{12,000}{\tan(32°)} \]
Next, we calculate \(\tan(32°)\):
\[ \tan(32°) \approx 0.6249 \]
Now, plugging this value into the equation for \(X\):
\[ X = \frac{12,000}{0.6249} \approx 19,207.6 \]
Rounding to the nearest whole number, the tower is approximately:
\[ \boxed{19208} \text{ meters} \]
So, the distance from the point directly beneath the plane to the airport tower is about 19,208 meters.