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Ditching accidents, life rafts, jackets and equipment, training and related discussion

Assuming you survive the ditching itself, the biggest threat is not drowning. It’s hypothermia.

I have had a few trips to oil rigs in the North Sea (through work). It is mandatory for everyone working there to have a helicopter ditch course. Basically it is a helicopter “fuselage” that is sunk in water, then turned upside down. You have to unbuckle and get out once you are upside down submerged in the water. We were told the survival rate (from the ditching itself) was 30-40 something percent without the course, and close to 100 percent with the course. For it to “work” you have to have a survival suite or a vest that pulls you up to the surface once you are out of the wreck. Down there in the chaos and bubbles you have no idea what is up or down. In a real ditching event you may also have some physical injuries that makes things much more difficult.

All helicopter transport to oil rigs are done with survival suits for everyone. But, when thinking on a first things first basis, a survival suite or a vest is number one, if for nothing else than to maximize your chances of surviving the ditching and getting out of the wreck. A simple vest would help just as much as a suite. Then you have to survive the cold. A survival suite will keep you alive for days even in freezing waters, but a vest will also do that if the temperature is OK and you have proper clothing. Having a raft will greatly improve your chances of surviving even in the worst conditions, and is much easier to spot.

To fly to Svalbard it is mandatory to have suits and raft. For for more normal flying activity an automatic inflatable sailers vest from a well known brand is probably the best there is. They are normally certified according to marine standards regarding bouncy, color, strength etc and are known to work, and are comfortable to wear.

The elephant is the circulation
ENVA ENOP ENMO, Norway

It’s been said a hundred times before but safety info is always worth repeating.
A survival at sea course is one of the best things you can do regardless of whether you intend to fly over water or not.
When over water always be on the look out for your chosen rescue vessel regardless of whether you have a problem or not!
Your chosen rescue vessel is ideally a small motor boat not just because of its speed and manouvreability but because the crew have the best chance of getting you out of the water once alongside. This can be VERY difficult to do and sailors have been known to drown right alongside their boat because the other crew members couldn’t get him aboard.
There is a really crap film about a group of friends who go sailing and all dive overboard without thinking about how they are going to get back aboard. They all die. It’s a crap film but the message is nonetheless real.
A boat with a transom is ideal.Link

Forever learning
EGTB

A survival at sea course is one of the best things you can do regardless of whether you intend to fly over water or not.

Absolutely agree. I did such a course and it really opened my eyes. Before that I thought the ditching itself was the most dangerous. After the ditching you could simply inflate the raft, get into it and wait for your rescue. I now know that the ditching itself has a very high survivability rate (over 90%, assuming it’s a controlled ditching and not an uncontrolled crash) but it’s only the start of your survival.

For those interested: My maritime survival training was done at a professional institute, but by volunteer staff of a diving school, on a Saturday. So the course was at a professional level and relatively cheap. But it was aimed at off-shore sailors and divers, not at aircrew. But at the end of the day, it doesn’t matter all that much how you end up in the sea – it will kill you just as quickly if you don’t prepare yourself properly.

Dutch site: http://www.getwet.nl/index.php/duikers/maritieme-trainingen/

We were told the survival rate (from the ditching itself) was 30-40 something percent without the course, and close to 100 percent with the course.

True, but in the context of offshore helicopters. Helicopters can ditch with a relatively low forward speed so the inevitable deceleration is less, and thus less deadly. But helicopters have their engines on the top of the fuselage so there’s a very high probability of a rollover. Which is extremely disorienting and very deadly without proper training.

From what I’ve read, a ditching in a light fixed wing aircraft has higher deceleration forces, which cause injuries, but the chance of a disorienting flip-over is relatively low. (Have to add that this is something that I don’t fancy getting personal experience in.)

I have some for sale if you are intrested. 2 are aviation and 3 are marine, one is stil in the plastic bag.

Ben

Today I was doing flying boat training, and the owner had purchased two of the Switlik life jackets presented earlier in this thread. I tried one, and to be honest I was not impressed. It was nice quality, but not any more comfortable than the Eastern Aero Marine I usually wear. I was going to buy the Switlik, but for the extra $250, I don’t see the value. I’m not knocking the Switlik, It just did not excite me as I had thought it would.

On the related subject of egress training, I recently took this course: http://www.dunkyou.com/ Excellent course! There is an online component, the “ground school” so to speak, which is worth taking all on its own, even if you cannot do the wet part. This training does not include dry immersion suits, though I did use the opportunity of the course to provide that training myself to some university students who require it for some arctic flying they will do this summer. For those on the right side of the Atlantic, I know that there is an outfit in Bremerhaven who also teaches these courses.

Home runway, in central Ontario, Canada, Canada

If I may to enter a plug.

I have 5 jackets for sell, one life raft and 3 headsets. Also hand held radio with VOR.

Ben

Ben,

The headsets have plugs, do the lifejackets or raft need them?

Home runway, in central Ontario, Canada, Canada

A bit of a late answer as I was away.
Not at the moment (:-))

The nice thing about having a ‘chute over water is that you will hopefully arrive the right way up with little forward velocity. The problem with our aircraft, is that although we have the ’chute, we don’t have a lot of spare space for a raft! (Sting TL20) Any recommendations on a two person raft?

The most time we spend over water is crossing the channel; taking sensible routes to minimise the time over water and getting high-ish, are only out of gliding distance of land for probably 15-20 minutes. Would you risk going without a raft? Hypothetically I am thinking that a composite aircraft in a controlled descent under parachute should stay afloat for a while. You probably don’t want to be inside strapped in though!

Interested to hear anyone else’s thoughts on this.

EGBP, United Kingdom
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