Who actually thinks its possible for a plane to land on water?

Question

Does anyone else think its funny/ridiculous during the air hostess demonstrations that they say in case the plane lands on water the seat can be used as a float. Who has ever heard of a commercial jet land successfully on water. Please someone explain if its possible to do this and why the gov allows airlines to give this false sense of security.

Answer 1

It actually has occurred. If the plane can splash down, there is a limited window of opportunity for the passengers to escape.

This happened on May 2, 1970.

"The ditching site was confirmed on radar with the assistance of a PanAm flight that diverted for that purpose. Other fixed-wing aircraft orbited the area until the US Coast Guard, Navy, and Marine Corps helicopters began picking up survivors. Weather in the area during the rescue operation was estimated to be 400 to 500 feet overcast and visibility as low as three-eighths of a mile in rain. The aircraft sank in water more than 5,000 feet deep, and was not recovered."

Answer 2

It's not funny or ridiculous. It happened.

Sorry I can't find the link but we learned about in Flight Attendant training. I think it was a very long time ago in Scandinavia somewhere. All the passengers exvacuated and the aircraft was still sitting on the water. It only sank later on when they went to retrieve it.

If you know anything about physics, it's obvious that an airplane is perfectly capable of displacing enough water to float. Yes, pilots are trained to make water landings, if land isn't close enough. They don't just lose control of the airplane and "crash" in all cases. If they have enough notice, they actually have several options. Landing on land, obviously is preferable. Water landings, therefore, are rare.

If planes automatically crashed into the sea every time, the airlines would not waste time and money on equipment and training in water landings. We Flight Attendants actually spent a lot of time on this subject and some airlines have swimming requirements (not mine but we had to do exercises fully clothed in the pool, plus know how to handle the life boats).

It's one thing to give a "false sense of security", it's another to waste money on such a huge scale. Just because this type of emergency is rare, doesn't mean that the airlines should not prepare for it and ignor the subject completely.

Answer 3

First off, you can only land a plane, by definition, on LAND. Seaplanes can touch down on water, and settle down comfortably, but it's not landing. BTW, the old Pan Am China Clippers did successfully touch down on water several times on each trip from California to the Far East. When Airlines talk about water landings, they mean a controlled crash. Which is usually safer on water than on land because there are fewer obstacles to rip the plane apart or strike sparks that can set it on fire. Planes do float, at least for a while. So that seat cushion could be a help. But it is a false sense of security because the FAA doesn't require commercial airliners to carry sufficient life rafts for more than a fraction of the passengers. If you are going to be in the water for a prolonged period, in most places anyway, you need to be able to get out of it. It's the hypothermia that usually kills people, and a flotation device doesn't really help with that.

Answer 4

The plane can land on water. It just cannot stay on top of the water after it lands, lol. That is why you need to know that the seat can be used as a flotation devise.

Answer 5

I wondered the same thing. I had a commercial pilot tell me one time that theoretically it could be done but in reality the plane would most likely break upon impact and there would be few if any survivors.

Answer 6

Probably seems like the reason they say "land on water" is because it isn't as harsh as "crash in water"