Requesting training for ditching in the Hudson?

[HalinTexas]

Went through the procedures for a ditch, because it's in the checklist, but never "landed" it.

Another time, while training in the sim for DCA procedures, the instructor failed both engines at 5000' Proceeded to glide to IAD. I made it to the runway.

One of the difficulties of training a ditching is being able to see swells vs. wave direction. Additionally, if you have to ditch in the N. Atlantic. You're gonna freeze to death if you can't get the "tent" up over the rafts. Not to mention landing in 20-40' swells and the integrity of the fuselage.

One thing we did find out. Airplanes will float for quite a while in calm seas, and you can get a lot of people out in 30 seconds.

I don't care for Airbii, but kudos to them as well. Stayed together.

 

[Toobdrvr]

The Ditching pushbutton closes all the openings below the water line.

 

[glasspilot1]

I've heard this from the cool instructors many a time.....

"We got some extra time, You Charles Lindberg types been wanting to try/practice anything else?":laugh:

Brings back memories! I was hired at Comair back in 1985 and they sent us to San Antonio to use the Metroliner sims there. At the end of one session the instructor said we had a few extra minutes. He set me up on final for an aircraft carrier! And I surprised him when I made it! Actually all I did was fly over the transom and push the nose down. Then the video went crazy and when it stopped we were looking at the Bridge!

 

[transpac]

For a simulator to accurately replicate aircraft behavior, flight test data must be used, although forecast data is pretty good for predicting performance and most normal maneuvers nowadays. But, until someone actually ditches an instrumented A-320 no real world ditching data will exist for it. Simulator software engineers can make an educated guess as to how the airplane will react after a water landing but it may be wildly inaccurate.

 

[yournextFO]

ASA trains dual flameout and relight in the sim. During my training they had us land with a dual flameout with no succ. relight. There was also discussion of use of the emergency depress/cabin dump to keep the airplane from exploding on impact and allow the doors to open to escape if a ditching scenario came up.

Of course, on a CRJ200, if you don't have 10th stage bleed air (i.e. dual engine failure/no apu) the emergency depress won't do you a bit of good, as bleed air is required to actuate the outflow valves. Then again, the plane leaks enough it will have probably depressurized itself by the time you land.

 

[JAFI]

For a simulator to accurately replicate aircraft behavior, flight test data must be used, .

Correct. The sims I have been in will either "crash" the sim when you touch down on water or think you are on land. In one sim I used, I "landed" in the ocean near an island, taxied around sailboats and cruise ships in the water then took off. Sims are not normally set up for ditching practice but for Instrument and procedures practice. The accuracy of a simulator sepends on how good a sim it is and how advanced the program for the flight model it has.