Successful Ditching

I do believe that he fared better with the gear up, than down and welded. That thing still stopped in three plane lengths!
 
Didn't look like he had flaps down. If he did it certainly wasn't full flaps.
 
I never thought of this but ditching in a high wing looks a lot harder than in a low wing in terms of actually trying to get out. You are stuck under the wings when you try to get out.
 
He would have done much better if he had a coach. Maybe somebody could have flown off his wing and given step-by-step instructions.
If we were lucky, the "coach" would video the entire episode and put it on the internet so we could learn what a hero he is.
 
Non Compos Mentis said:
He would have done much better if he had a coach. Maybe somebody could have flown off his wing and given step-by-step instructions.
If we were lucky, the "coach" would video the entire episode and put it on the internet so we could learn what a hero he is.
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cheers_leo_well_played_meme1.jpg
 
Well done... I’m assuming he took the water vs the wet hard area of sand to protect beach goers?
 
Rebel Lord said:
I never thought of this but ditching in a high wing looks a lot harder than in a low wing in terms of actually trying to get out. You are stuck under the wings when you try to get out.
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For getting out, the record doesn't seem that bad, and for landing, if it's a retract high-wing, it's sort of like a seaplane. Amy Laboda once was a writer for aviation magazines:
"Amy Laboda was forced to ditch her Cessna 210 in the Florida Straits shortly after takeoff from the Key West (Fla.) International Airport (EYW). The episode was a testimony to training, quick decision-making and the need to keep an airplane under control. Laboda and her two daughters Rose, 10, and Leah, 9, plus their babysitter, Kim Luebke, 15, and 31-year-old passenger Lauren Jackson (a Caravan staffer) all escaped the ditching with physical injuries amounting to nothing more than cuts and bruises. That cannot be said for the airplane, however."
 
Kenny Phillips said:
For getting out, the record doesn't seem that bad, and for landing, if it's a retract high-wing, it's sort of like a seaplane. Amy Laboda once was a writer for aviation magazines:
"Amy Laboda was forced to ditch her Cessna 210 in the Florida Straits shortly after takeoff from the Key West (Fla.) International Airport (EYW). The episode was a testimony to training, quick decision-making and the need to keep an airplane under control. Laboda and her two daughters Rose, 10, and Leah, 9, plus their babysitter, Kim Luebke, 15, and 31-year-old passenger Lauren Jackson (a Caravan staffer) all escaped the ditching with physical injuries amounting to nothing more than cuts and bruises. That cannot be said for the airplane, however."
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I remember when this happened and Amy talking about it. The Uncontrolled Airspace Podcast (UCAP) did an episode where she talked about it and it was probably one of the best they did at the time. I tried to find a direct link, but I don't see reference to which podcast it was in - later summer 2010 is best I have.

In any case, google has it, you can find the exert here if you'd like to hear first hand the thought process from someone who has ditched.

https://podcasts.google.com/?feed=a...29udHJvbGxlZGFpcnNwYWNl&ep=5&at=1563377654966
 
Rebel Lord said:
I never thought of this but ditching in a high wing looks a lot harder than in a low wing in terms of actually trying to get out. You are stuck under the wings when you try to get out.
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I would think a Grumman would be the easiest to exit. Open the canopy before you touch down and climb out when ready.

I did read about ditchings, it seems like the occupants almost always get out in a controlled ditching. The danger is in dying from exposure when someone ditches far from shore or in severely cold water.
 
What happens to the airplane in a situation like this? It looks like the horizontal stabilizer is bent, but other than that the structure appears to be in good shape. Of course, it's been thoroughly marinated in salt water and sand and has had the equivalent to a prop strike.

I wouldn't want to fly in it regardless of how much labor was put into fixing it.
 
FormerHangie said:
I would think a Grumman would be the easiest to exit. Open the canopy before you touch down and climb out when ready.
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Only problem with rolling a canopy back is that most don't have hold back latches, so when you stop, the canopy keeps going , until it closes again...

The SF-260 was unlatch the canopy while in the air and jettison after impact.
 
And with fixed gear, I would think the chances of it flipping onto it's back are greatly increased.
 
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