QUESTION: 
If the boosters fell off, and did not fall in the water, what would 
happen if they fell on land? 
 
ANSWER from Charles Whetsel on April 30, 1997:
The short answer is: They always fall in the water.  All of the major
rockets launched from the US (in both Florida and California), France,
India, and Japan are all launched from controlled launch pads (where
everything is blast proof) and immediately fly out over an ocean.  In
Russia and China, the oceans aren't as conveniently accessible, so they
launch over deserts or other unpopulated areas.

The long answer is: The rocket fuel which fills the boosters contains a lot
of stored energy and could cause a very large explosion if it fell to the
ground.  This is why, in addition to launching the rockets over water,
every rocket is also equipped with a self-destruct mechanism (we technical
guys like to refer to it as a "Flight Termination System").  For every
launch, there is one guy called the "Range Safety Officer" who is
responsible for watching the data from all of the radars and cameras and
telescopes around the launch range.  The instant that he sees anything
funny about the way the rocket is flying (like it might be deviating from
its trajectory and heading towards a city), it is his job to immediately
activate the flight termination system.  If the rocket self-destructs in
mid-air, the damage caused by lots of small pieces falling to the ground
(or water) is considerably less than if the rocket came to the ground in
one piece and detonated on impact.