Steve6443 wrote:
because if you try to ditch with fixed undercarriage, chances are, you will end up flipping – this is why so many light aircraft try to land on a beach, instead of ditching a little further out to sea
No and yes… this is a myth that just isn’t backed up by the statistics, and yes this is why so many light aircraft try to land on beaches full of people (because the myth won’t die).
Dan wrote:
One more, if your airplane’s performance allows and not already at WOT:
- Increase your speed over the water section of your leg
Yea! Absolutely. Not only because it reduces the time but also because most engines are optimized for WOT ops, at least non Turbo ones.
For long range crossings however, you need to take into account with what power the Plog was calculated with… otherwise you might end up short.
Remember the Swiss guy who has his Mooney configured for some insane hours of endurance and did stuff like Bangor-ZRH direct in an E-Model? He did it at 45% power if I recall right. That guy must have been quite uncomfortable sitting on that size of balls that long.
Well, I’ve flown quite a few times to Norway so far and therefore several Skagerrak crossings. As said by others, I tried each time to have a higher altitude, but the Skagerrak crossing is just the beginning… There are many places in Norway where you can’t make a safe emergency landing, except to ditch in a fjord or lake or (if you’re lucky) land on a snowfield or road. The rest are rocks, rocks, and more rocks. Same a bit for the Alps, except the Alps offer usually a safe nearby valley to glide into with some nice grass fields to land on. Norway almost never have that.
Neither do the Pyrenees.
Two identical threads merged 
Airborne_Again wrote:
There’s a lot of myths about ditchings based on “common sense” rather than on what actually happens. On this web site they’ve taken a close look at the statistics and debunked some of the myths – such as that of aircraft flipping over.
Cttime wrote:
No and yes… this is a myth that just isn’t backed up by the statistics, and yes this is why so many light aircraft try to land on beaches full of people (because the myth won’t die).
Looking at the website, they cannot find data to confirm wheels down cause a plane to flip. What they do say is
How often does the airplane flip over because the gear caught in the water? We don’t really know. But even if all the airplanes flipped—highly unlikely—the occupants still manage to egress safely. Conclusion: It may not matter much.
ie. that in most cases where it happens, the occupants manage to get out.
From my point of view, if I can avoid any risk, if I can ensure the plane pancakes flat onto the water, then that’s what I’m going to do. If you do flip, smack your head on the dashboard, knocking yourself out, it’s not going to end well, is it…
Steve6443 wrote:
How often does the airplane flip over because the gear caught in the water? We don’t really know. But even if all the airplanes flipped—highly unlikely—the occupants still manage to egress safely. Conclusion: It may not matter much.
Based on a lot of informal research, it seems clear that if you have RG leave the gear up if landing in water or a field.
If you have fixed gear, assume you will flip and have a good egress plan. If you don’t flip, cool!
The idea of pancaking in sounds like it could reduce the risk of a flip, but it increases the risk that you will stall before you hit the water, and your body won’t like the vertical load. Never flown a float plane, but everyone tells me it’s really hard to judge height above the water. I expect that in an emergency, it will be even harder.
My plan is fly as close to stall as I can while descending, and get mentally ready to egress from an upside down position.
Which is going to be pretty difficult in most Pipers
Fairly obviously you do not want a large un-movable passenger in the RHS in a PA28, water or no water
I had an interesting experience once in a PA28 and decided I would never buy a one door plane.
I’m off up onto the high mountains tomorrow for a nice jolly along some snow ridges. If I slip and the other guy doesn’t jump the other side of the ridge, then it’s jam for us both. Or the other way around. But we do these things and get on. And the only reason is because life is too short not to. I love the same irony for flying over water. Mitigate what you can – life raft, survival gear, training (I’m amazed at the number of people who never actually practice what you really need to do in a sticky spot – even a dry run) but then just get on and do it. Analysis paralysis doesn’t get one far in life.
I almost always wear a lifejacket. I intend to ditch rather than crash on rough terrain. Safety in ditching is very aircraft specific. Jodels will dip nose, lift tail, then float level, for a considerable time. The Bolkow Junior will likely not float for long, and quickly have cockpit canopy under water pressure. There are a number of “Glide to shore” fatal accidents where ditching would likely have been survived.
With egressing alive, wearing a lifejacket, the next item is getting to shore or rescue, and if you ditch near a fishing vessel that rescue should be quick.
Survival time in cold water is very variable – clothing and your body mainly.
