Another safe water landing?

[avbug]

Exactly my point Avbug...Real world examples! You can survive water landings with the wings level, at a proper approach speed.

Perhaps.

Don't be so fast to assume that ditchings are survivable, because far too many variables are involved. A ditching shouldn't be your first choice if other options exist.

If you are towing banners lets say and experience an engine failure...you'd be MUCH better off landing 300-600 yards from the beach in the shallow water.

What has banner towing to do with ditching? You're making the assumption that the banner is being towed off-shore, and there's no place else to go?

I started and ran a banner towing business, and I don't see that towing a banner is any different than any other type of flying, or changes the equation in the least. Water is still the least preferable place to go, unless there is no other choice.

 

[TWA]

What has banner towing to do with ditching? You're making the assumption that the banner is being towed off-shore, and there's no place else to go?

I started and ran a banner towing business, and I don't see that towing a banner is any different than any other type of flying, or changes the equation in the least. Water is still the least preferable place to go, unless there is no other choice.

I believe the banner towing scenario was used simply because many times banners are towed down beaches, where you normally have a heavily populated area on one side of you, and water on the other. It had more to do with location than type of flying.

In all of the survived water ditchings described here, there is one common denominator: they were all retracs. In a small aircraft, a ditching without gear hanging beneath you will almost always go better than if gear were down. This doesn't really apply to transport class aircraft, because the landing gear are proportionally much smaller compared to the rest of the aircraft.

Water landings, when properly executed, are a great alternative to trying to land in a soccer field, parking lot, football field (in the accident report they used the yard lines), backcountry road, etc.

 

[414Flyer]

Don't be so fast to assume that ditchings are survivable, because far too many variables are involved. A ditching shouldn't be your first choice if other options exist.

Well that depends on the options available and the risk level. A water landing is inherently risky, but less so than compared to a lava rock field on the west side of Hawai'i. But an ex sugar cane field on the east side, would have been preferable than the water. There could be a number of options, and of course which you all too well know, you have to quickly decide what works and go with it.

 

[avbug]

I believe the banner towing scenario was used simply because many times banners are towed down beaches, where you normally have a heavily populated area on one side of you, and water on the other.

In which case the ditching is preferred because it's the only choice. There are no better choices.

A water landing is inherently risky, but less so than compared to a lava rock field on the west side of Hawai'i.

In this case, again, preferred because there is no other choice. Landing in the lava field isn't an option, the water is. It's preferred not because it's the best place to land. It's preferred because it's the only place to go.

Water landings, when properly executed, are a great alternative to trying to land in a soccer field, parking lot, football field (in the accident report they used the yard lines), backcountry road, etc.

No, it's not. Not at all. Not remotely so.

I've landed on back country roads many times. Fields, too. Gravel strips, highways, roads, and mountainsides. Far, far preferrable to ditching in the water. Water is an option, but should be reserved for the time there are no other options.

 

[JAFI]

In a water landing a fixed gear aircraft has the chance to flip forward (upside down) which adds another risk of not being able to swim out. Which leads to the other risk of a water landing - drowning...

 

[414Flyer]

One friend if mine actually had to ditch in the North Atlantic during winter. He was really lucky to make it out of that one alive. Crankcase vent froze shut, blew the oil out from around the prop in a Bonanza.

 

[avbug]

A ditching in an aircraft which is not equipped with floats, or is not amphibious, is not a "water landing." It's a ditching.

 

[JAFI]

A ditching in an aircraft which is not equipped with floats, or is not amphibious, is not a "water landing." It's a ditching.

Correct. It makes takeoff real difficult too.........

 

[BenWA]

I agree that ditching should never be considered a good option, even if it happens be the best option under a given set of circumstaces. Don't get caught in believing that a ditching will automatically save the day. It very well may not. Furthermore, the type of aircraft may have a large effect on the qualtiy of the outcome.

Although I would argue that at nighttime ditching a short ways off shore is probably the best option if you aren't near any airports, particularly if you are in forested, mountainous, or densely populated areas. Of course, getting the airplane in the water is only the beginning of the struggle that will ensue.