Emergency Water Landing thoughts

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SmashTime

Pre-takeoff checklist
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SmashTime
Was thinking to myself about water landings the other day.

In my mind low wings are preferred for a water ditch due to the stability and boat like floating.

Would that be correct?
Would a high wing lean to the heavy side?
Best landing/ditching technique to increase your odds of surviving?

Obviously the high wing is preferred for off field landings due to clearance, but water has me wondering.

Thoughts?
 
I lost a friend last year to what most of you will dream is a survivable water ditching. My priority? Remain conscious. Without that you're dead. How to maximize the chances? Secure your stuff that's behind you because it's coming for your head when you hit and you'll have enough to deal with without taking a 15# tool box to your noggin at 45mph.
 
Stewartb said:
I lost a friend last year to what most of you will dream is a survivable water ditching. My priority? Remain conscious. Without that you're dead. How to maximize the chances? Secure your stuff that's behind you because it's coming for your head when you hit and you'll have enough to deal with without taking a 15# tool box to your noggin at 45mph.
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I agree with that, when I sold my 235 last year, I flew it to Georgia from Ft Worth. It was just annualed and I had never flown that far. I ended up taking my full faced racing helmet incase I had to do an off field landing or something because I only had lap belts in the 235.

When the new owner asked me about it, I told him I didn't want a smashed face if I had any troubles... he laughed and said that was actually a really good idea.
 
My last CFI had a one at night.

One thing he told me was that to remain calm, because it takes about 10 minutes for the plane to sink. I thought that was gre as the information.
 
Seen a lot of aftermath stories regarding ditching and the one common thing I got from most of them is that none of the pilots were expecting the head to yoke or dash impact from the deceleration...and that head injury actually did a few of them in on what would have otherwise been a survivable event.
 
If your thinking about it ,your part way there. I wear a set of suspenders for over water,and love my four point harness.
 
I keep a motorcycle helmet in the plane with me. It's not going to help if my engine quits on takeoff, but I already had the helmet, so there's not much harm in keeping it with me just in case. I also have a low wing retract, which I guess would help and not hurt in a water ditching (anyone have stats on that?). My home drone also has water on two sides, so it is a situation I give some thought to.
 
Read somewhere, wish I could remember wher, that high wings and/or fix gear do about as well as low wings. Not like it's happening every day, so the statistical universe is pretty dmall. . .
 
Art VanDelay said:
Not really much of a problem if you have some kind of a BRS.
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I asked my wife how much safer she would feel in an airplane equipped with a parachute.

She said 40% safer.... lol I said are you crazy?! It would make me feel about 90% safer. Apparently she isn't easily impressed.
 
SmashTime said:
I asked my wife how much safer she would feel in an airplane equipped with a parachute.

She said 40% safer.... lol I said are you crazy?! It would make me feel about 90% safer. Apparently she isn't easily impressed.
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Is she a pilot ? Better question - how many times has she been serioulsy scared for a safe outcome in an aircraft ?
 
No she's not.

She's rode with me 4 times for a total of 5 hours. Lol

She hates bumps and thought my 1964 cherokee 235 was too old.

Lol so hopefully I'll get her in a SR22 sooner or later
 
Sundancer said:
Read somewhere, wish I could remember wher, that high wings and/or fix gear do about as well as low wings. Not like it's happening every day, so the statistical universe is pretty dmall. . .
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I can believe high wings and low wings perform similarly. But not fixed gear and retract--those wheels often dig in and bury the nose, increasing acceleration forces and sometimes flipping the plane. With my wheels up, impact will depend on forward speed, vertical speed and angle of the nose to the water, without additional drag-brakes as the extended gear legs dig into the water.
 
SmashTime said:
Was thinking to myself about water landings the other day.

In my mind low wings are preferred for a water ditch due to the stability and boat like floating.

Would that be correct?
Would a high wing lean to the heavy side?
Best landing/ditching technique to increase your odds of surviving?

Obviously the high wing is preferred for off field landings due to clearance, but water has me wondering.

Thoughts?
Click to expand...
'

Aviation writer Amy Laboda ditched her 210 in the Gulf a couple of years ago and wrote of her experience in several magazine articles. Try a Google search.

Bob Gardner
 
A low wing could catch and cause a possible cartwheel unless you're good enough to land it perfectly wings level, especially in the ocean

My one concern about a BRS system in water is what if the canopy lands on top of the airplane. How heavy is it? Could one open the doors of a cirrus let's say and get out of that? I'd be afraid of getting trapped as a result of it
 
SmashTime said:
My last CFI had a one at night.

One thing he told me was that to remain calm, because it takes about 10 minutes for the plane to sink. I thought that was gre as the information.
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I count 35 seconds for this Cirrus to sink (1:52 to 2:27):

 
Just bought constant-wear manually inflatable life vests. The last thing I would want to do after crashing a plane is have to tread water.
 
deonb said:
I count 35 seconds for this Cirrus to sink (1:52 to 2:27):

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Looked like the pilot didn't enjoy it, either. He was sitting in the raft on the wing when it rolled over and threw him into the water upside down under the raft. Then he had to climb back into his tiny, one-person raft . . .
 
Interia reel shoulder belts

And a hook knife/and knowing when to kick out a window.


At least in floatplane crashes most folks don't die outside the plane they die inside, quite a few end up eating the dash/yoke on impact.

Normal shoulder belts are too restrictive for working the cockpit, so folks wear them ether very loose or not at all, defeating the whole point.

Been posted before, but to give you a idea of what happens when landing gear touch water.

 
Damn, the cirrus sank!

10 minutes my butt
 
Think if he could have cut away that canopy so it wasn't dragging the plane, itd have floated for considerably longer. Wonder if the reason for not having a cutaway is due to a concern of user error, or just the level of extra bits and pieces required.
 
It seems like a shoulder harness like in a car would make a lot of sense in a plane too.

When I buy a plane, I plan on having a inflatable vest for everyone and a life raft. Along with my epirb, goggles, and rescue air.
 
midcap said:
It seems like a shoulder harness like in a car would make a lot of sense in a plane too.

When I buy a plane, I plan on having a inflatable vest for everyone and a life raft. Along with my epirb, goggles, and rescue air.
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Also do training in freezing water. If you havent ever experienced that it would be such a shock to your system that every other plan goes out the window.
 
I remember reading on here about some statistics that seemed to point to type of gear making a bigger difference (fixed vs retractable).
 
jaymark6655 said:
I remember reading on here about some statistics that seemed to point to type of gear making a bigger difference (fixed vs retractable).
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With fixed gear you are more likely to find yourself upside down. It digs into the water.
 
Norman said:
With fixed gear you are more likely to find yourself upside down. It digs into the water.
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Yes, that is what I remember the statistics pointing out and high vs low wing survivability was about equal.
 
Dont plan on retrieving anything before you get out. All you will be concerned with is getting to air. You will be lucky if you don't flip over with fixed gear.
 
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