Interesting how the back of it came off on the fuselage joint line
Engine failure, apparently.
I know someone who ditched a Twin Comanche – the back broke off that, too. (They ditched in deep water though, in the Irish Sea).
INteresting comparison with this other recent ditching of a Bonanza which seems remarkably intact and afloat for a significant time (it would be interesting to know exactly how long) after ditching.
afloat for a significant time
Maybe a lot of air and not much fuel in the tanks.
Antonio wrote:
INteresting comparison with this other recent ditching of a Bonanza which seems remarkably intact and afloat for a significant time (it would be interesting to know exactly how long) after ditching.
I read another account of a Bonanza ditching whereby the pilot said the plane sunk rapidly, within 30 seconds or so. I can’t find the article now unfortunately, but IIRC it was a V35 on a round the world trip.
Personally I think I will stick to life jacket + raft for open water crossings from now on. There’s no guarantee that a ditching will go well enough for you to be uninjured and able to get the raft sorted. If there was enough force to rip the tail off this aircraft (assuming a wing touched the water/a wave first and cartwheeled) then it can’t have been a comfortable ride.
We did this before, probably in the merged ditching thread.
Even with 100% air in the tanks, there is not enough buyoancy to support even the empty weight, not by a very long way, not even on a wooden Robin, so any GA plane will sink rapidly as soon as the cockpit substantially fills up. You have a max of 1-2 mins depending on the sea state; potentially much longer if flat water and a pressurised hull and no water splashing in (very unlikely in GA but has happened with some carefully ditched airliner).
Re that TB, what I heard (this stuff gets posted on FB where practically nobody sees it and practically nobody learns from it) is that it stalled, and the upward impact of the water on the elevator is what broke off the tail. It wasn’t a “normal” ditching.
to sustain the speculations mill, some more info here
Light Plane Crashes Into Ocean
IO390 wrote:
Personally I think I will stick to life jacket + raft for open water crossings from now on.
I would advise you to take a ditching course in a pool, if you ever have the opportunity. It’s eye opening.
I had a change to do one years ago. It wasn’t very realistic, in that there was no dunker (so no submerged/escape to be done) and was in a warm swimming pool, so no freezing shivering mussels.
It was the most benign circumstances you could ask for. Yet about 75% of the participants failed to get into the raft despite being allowed to take as long as they needed.
It’s surprising how high a raft walls are when just your head is sticking out of the water!
For me the big takeaway was:
1. Try not to get wet. If you can get into the raft when the aircraft is still floating so you can step from the aircraft into the raft. If you’re lucky enough for this to be possible it makes things a lot easier.
2. If you can avoid it, don’t inflate your life jacket until inside the raft. the extra distance that the jacket keeps you from the raft makes it much harder to get it.
3. Know your life raft and what aids it has to help you get in. If you are in the water, you’ll need an aid to get it. Some have steps, some of ropes to pull on and some have ropes that you need to reach in for and pull yourself against. If you don’t know what aids your raft has, you won’t find them when in the water and you won’t get from the water to life raft without either an aid or someone else already in there to pull you in.
There was also some bits on how to turn up a raft that has inflated upside down. Very useful to know.
As I say, I found the course eye opening despite the benign conditions. A raft by itself, and without the knowledge of how to use it, isn’t of much use.
There is a wealth of opinions and significant knowledge in the referred threads.
This one about recent events is significant because the airframe broke up significantly (in the TB20). Despite this occupant(s) were apparently uninjured.The Bonanza remained intact and afloat for way more than the standard one minute, and even with zero pitch, vs the standard nose-down. This contrasts. Occupant also uninjured.
Both in (relatively) coastal waters so rescue was nearby and survival equipment not a factor (this is not generally the case)
Also in both cases, the pictures show entry door(s) closed post ditching.
