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Unread 06-30-07, 12:18 AM
Ernie Martin's Avatar
Ernie Martin Ernie Martin is offline
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Join Date: Apr 2002
Location: Miami, Florida
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Ernie Martin is an unknown quantity at this point
I hold a different opinion, and not just because most of my flying is over water.

If you do some searching on the Internet, you will find that controlled ditching "is one of the most survivable emergency procedures any pilot can perform" and "overall general aviation ditching survival rate is 90 percent" or roughly comparable to an emergency landing away from an airport; see the full analysis based on eight years of NTSB data at www.equipped.com/ditchingmyths.htm

AOPA Pilot magazine had an article several years ago about a Western Canada outfit that holds ditching courses for GA pilots, including underwater aircraft egress training. I excerpted elements of that and you will find it in my "backup" Skymaster website at www.SkymasterUS.com (click on "Skymaster Ditching: Avoid & Prepare").

Another point is that a controlled ditching typically leaves the aircraft floating for several minutes, with adequate time for exiting. There is often an initial period where the aircraft nose goes underwater, but the aircraft normally pops back out and floats. If you look at WW II footage of aircraft downed by ship anti-aircraft fire, you will see that all of the controlled ditchings result in a floating aircraft. Very heavy seas can, of course, change things, especially if the aircraft flips.

One final point is that you do have two engines, so the likelyhood of ditching is minimal. This assumes a careful pilot who won't suffer fuel starvation.

Ernie
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