Do airliners 'land' on water

Completely corect Jeremy you would stand a good chance in a Slide/Raft at sea and Providing all slides deploy ok on a 747 would give you 8 rafts each seating between 45 - 75 people each (360 - 600 people) so there would be enough space for everyone !! and equiped with things such as flares and sea dye .... you would hopefully be found quite quickly

Do they carry EPIRBS, SARTs and such like? Are they covered once deployed and released from the aircraft?

They have a canopy which should be used to prtect from sun and wind... Also aircraft have 2x radio transponders which last for up to 48 hours. once rafts are separated from aircraft they can be tied together at 75ft (7.5m) apart

I watched a programme about the building of the A380 and part of it was about ditching, it said you only have a 17% chance of survival in the case of ditching. Mainly because, as previously stated, once the wing tip hits the water it can spin the aircraft out of control, and if the engine rips off it can hit the plane because of the spin put on to it.

I wouldn't want to ditch, ever.

This is an interseting conversation - now what we need is someone to try it out - what about seeing if there is some philanthropist who could get hold of one of those 747's in the Mojave and then land in in a controlled way in the Pacific!!

Anyone on here got the cash - or maybe we could get a mad science programme like Braniac to do it??

It would make good TV!!!

I do particularly like the idea of jettisoning the engines - I keep on seeing a picture of a slightly jumpy co-pilot sitting with his finger poised above the eject button repeating 'Must not press...must not press'. [B)]

I guess the problem with parachutes are the possibility of deploying them through a technical fault.

Anyway glad to see it has provoked a bit of discussion - I was a little worried it might be greeted with a few anguished cries but seems to have been taken in the manner that was hoped. My personal feeling is that the safety cards are a little optimistic but then I guess they have to have something to put on the cards and under the seats to make the passengers feel safe.

Phil

I think I remember the Ethiopian Captain stating shortly after the ditching, that he thought the aircraft was level as it hit the water. The aircraft needs to be completely level when it makes contact with the water, or else it will cartwheel.

The (almost brand new) China Airlines 747-400 which went into Hong Kong Harbour proves the 747 can float, and the life rafts and life jackets were of use in that instance.

Originally posted by AtlanticFlyer

The (almost brand new) China Airlines 747-400 which went into Hong Kong Harbour proves the 747 can float...

Did it float or did it just hit bottom?

Phil

I think there have been several cases where aircraft have overrun at Kai Tak and ended up in the water - many a pilots career has been ended here!;)
However, I don't know how deep it is...?

Cheers,
VS045

Originally posted by MarkJ
This is an interseting conversation - now what we need is someone to try it out - what about seeing if there is some philanthropist who could get hold of one of those 747's in the Mojave and then land in in a controlled way in the Pacific!!

Anyone on here got the cash - or maybe we could get a mad science programme like Braniac to do it??

It would make good TV!!!

This is a good job for Mythbusters!

Anyone who has done a belly flop when practicing diving will know how hard water is.[:0] Water is virtually incompressible so does not make a good shock absorber.
Apologies to any nervous flyers, but if you are unfortunate to ditch in water (very rare) it is down to luck and the big guy upstairs looking out for you (I don`t mean the big fat guy in PE, more the ecumenical type of guy).
You can also try sitting at the back. I have yet to see a plane fly backwards into anything. We are flying in 6A/6K so bring it on Atlantic.
Andy, If this has been offensive again, get to bed mate, it`s too late for you.
My dad used to tell me when I was younger, " If your not in bed by 1am, come home"[}:)]

You guys ever watch Fight Club? There were a few scenes regarding the safety cards on planes, and I do agree with them.. that they are usually just there to make the passengers feel safe... Sorta like how the current security efforts are in the US...