Incredible tornado video
 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DNL7ASvl4k4

Taken yesterday in Oklahoma. Incredible close up view of one mad tornado.

holy crap!! thats crazy!!!!

That's one ****ed off tornado. Anyone know what would happen if an airplane flew through one? I imagine a C172 would get the shaft, but what about a bigger plane like a 747 or A380?

I don't think ANY airplane would survive a direct hit on ANY tornado. Infact they would probably lose control before even reaching the tornado.

A NWA DC-9 got VERY close to one on approach into Sioux Falls, SD a couple of years ago. In fact, a witness on the ground on line with 911 reported that it flew right through it.

even though a tornado has some rather massive winds, and the possibility of really high altitude fast flying debris, wouldn't just the shear momentum of a 747 just make it go right trough it? Considering the speed of the 747 and the rather small horizontal expanse of a tornado

I doubt it. Look at what happens when you fly anything through a thunderhead. It's bad for a C172 or a 744.

I'm not saying it wouldn't feel it, but I can't envision it being caught up in it and swirled around

There are some good points being raised. I was assuming you'd be flying through a small tornado (F0-F2), a larger tornado like an F5 would swallow anything alive. I don't think planespotta's example is entirely relevant because thunderheads are large, ugly clouds that you can easily spend over an hour in. If you flew through a tornado, your plane should be in and out within a matter of seconds. And I like photon's theory of momentum. I agree that if a large plane is traveling fast enough, it's momentum would be much too large to stop.

My guess is that a large, airplane with enough speed could make it through. That's not to say the airplane wouldn't be damaged severly, it would probably have to make one quick emergency landing afterwards.

Other things to ponder:
Debris. The presence of debris would almost definitely make it impossible to fly through a tornado.
Hurricane hunters. These planes routinely fly in hurricanes that have winds in excess of 200 mph. Although they aren't built for the same purpose, a civillian hurrican of the same size should still be able to make it through.