A water landing is, in the broadest sense, any landing on a body of water. All waterfowl, those seabirds capable of flight, and some human-built vehicles are capable of landing in water as a matter of course.

The phrase "water landing" is also used as a euphemism for crash-landing into water in an aircraft not designed for the purpose. The National Transportation Safety Board of the United States government defines "ditching" in its aviation accident coding manual as "a planned event in which a flight crew knowingly makes a controlled emergency landing in water. (Excludes float plane landings in normal water landing areas.)"[1] Such water landings are extremely rare for commercial passenger airlines.

[edit] By design

Apollo 15 capsule descends under two of three parachutes

Seaplanes, flying boats, and amphibious aircraft are designed to take off and land on water. Landing can be supported by a hull-shaped fuselage and/or pontoons. The availability of a long effective runway was historically important on lifting size restrictions on aircraft, and their freedom from constructed strips remains useful for transportation to lakes and other remote areas. The ability to loiter on water is also important for marine rescue operations and fire fighting. One disadvantage of water landing is that it is dangerous in the presence of waves. Furthermore, the necessary equipment compromises the craft's aerodynamic efficiency and speed.

Early manned spacecraft launched by the United States were designed to land in water by the splashdown method. The craft would parachute into the water, which acted as a cushion to bring the craft to a stop; the impacts were violent but survivable. Landing over water rather than land made braking rockets unnecessary, but its disadvantages included difficult retrieval and the danger of drowning. The NASA Space Shuttle design was intended to land on a runway instead.

[edit] In distress

Although extremely uncommon in commercial passenger travel, small aircraft ditchings are common occurrences. According to the United States Coast Guard, including helicopters and fixed-wing aircraft, between military, air carrier, corporate, and general aviation, there is, on average, one ditching every day in U.S. waters alone.^{[1][dubious – discuss]}

[edit] General aviation

General aviation includes all fields of aviation outside of military or scheduled (commercial) flights. This classification includes small aircraft, e.g., training aircraft, airships, gliders, helicopters, and corporate aircraft, including business jets and other for-hire operations. General aviation has the highest accident and incident rate in aviation, with 16 deaths per million flight hours, compared to 0.74 deaths per million flight hours for commercial flights (North America and Europe) [2].

[edit] Commercial aircraft

US Airways Flight 1549, ditched in the Hudson River in 2009 with all passengers surviving

The FAA does not require commercial pilots to train to ditch, regulating instead the distance a plane can stray from an airfield.^[1]

Nevertheless, all airliners are equipped with flotation devices in case of water landings. According to FAA regulations, aircraft that travel no farther than 50 nautical miles (93 km) from shore are only required to be equipped with flotation seat cushions. Aircraft that travel no farther than 162 nautical miles (300 km) from shore are required to be equipped with life vests for all passengers. If an aircraft travels farther than 162 nautical miles (300 km) from shore it must be equipped with life vests for all passengers, and life rafts/raft evacuation slides.

While there have been several 'successful' (survivable) water landings by narrow-body and propeller-driven airliners, few commercial jets have ever touched down 'perfectly' on water. There has been a good deal of popular controversy over the efficiency of life vests and rafts. For example, Ralph Nader's Aviation Consumer Action Project had been quoted as saying that a wide body jet would “shatter like a raw egg dropped on pavement, killing most if not all passengers on impact, even in calm seas with well-trained pilots and good landing trajectories."^[1]

Also, in December 2002, The Economist had quoted an expert as claiming that "No large airliner has ever made an emergency landing on water" in an article that goes on to charge, "So the life jackets ... have little purpose other than to make passengers feel better."^[2][3] This idea was repeated in The Economist in September 2006 in an article which reported that "in the history of aviation the number of wide-bodied aircraft that have made successful landings on water is zero."^[4]

Of note is the January 15, 2009, ditching of US Airways Flight 1549, an Airbus A320 narrow-body jet, which successfully landed in the North River section of the Hudson River mid-river between Manhattan in New York City and Weehawken in New Jersey. All on board survived, showing that inflatable slide-rafts and life jackets can sometimes serve their purposes, although photographs from the incident show that very few passengers were wearing life jackets. After take-off from La Guardia, initial reports cite dual engine failure due to bird strikes at a low altitude. Pilot Chesley B. "Sully" Sullenberger was able to cross the Bronx in a slow turn to the south-west, pass over the George Washington Bridge and ditch the plane in the Hudson River. The left engine broke away on contact with the river.^[5] All 155 passengers and crew survived with only one major injury and 77 minor injuries,^[6][7] in part because the plane came to a halt adjacent to the passenger ferry route between NYC and New Jersey.

[edit] Survival rates of passenger plane water ditchings

In all cases where a passenger plane has undergone an intentional water landing or ditching, some or all of the occupants have survived.^{[dubious – discuss]} Examples of water landings in which passengers survived after a planned and intentional water landing after an in-flight emergency are:

• On 15 January 2009, the aforementioned US Airways Flight 1549 (an Airbus A320) successfully ditched into the Hudson River between New York City and New Jersey, after reports of multiple bird strikes. All of the 155 passengers and crew aboard escaped and were rescued by passenger ferries and day-cruise boats, in spite of freezing temperatures (the ditching occurred near the Circle Line Sightseeing Cruises and NY Waterway piers in midtown Manhattan).^[8] The survival rate was 100%.

• On 6 August 2005, Tuninter Flight 1153 (an ATR 72) ditched off the Sicilian coast after running out of fuel. Of 35 aboard, 23 survived with injuries including serious burns. The plane's wreck was found in three pieces. The survival rate was 66%.

• On 16 January 2002, Garuda Indonesia Flight 421 (a Boeing 737) successfully ditched into the Bengawan Solo River near Yogyakarta, Java Island after experiencing a twin engine flameout during heavy precipitation and hail. The pilots tried to restart the engines several times before making the decision to ditch the aircraft. Of the 60 occupants, one flight attendant was killed. The survival rate was 98%.^[9] Photographs taken shortly after evacuation show that the plane came to rest in knee-deep water.^[10]

• On 23 November 1996, Ethiopian Airlines Flight 961 (a Boeing 767-260ER), ditched in the Indian Ocean near Comoros after being hijacked and running out of fuel, killing 125 of the 175 passengers and crew on board. Unable to operate flaps, it impacted at high speed, dragging its left wingtip before tumbling and breaking into three pieces. The panicking hijackers were fighting the pilots for the control of the plane at the time of the impact, which caused the plane to roll just before hitting the water, and the subsequent wingtip hitting the water and breakup are a result of this struggle in the cockpit. Some passengers were killed on impact or trapped in the cabin when they inflated their life vests before exiting. Most of the survivors were found hanging onto a section of the fuselage that remained floating. The survival rate was 29%.

• On 2 May 1970, ALM Flight 980 (a McDonnell Douglas DC-9-33CF), ditched in mile-deep water after running out of fuel during multiple attempts to land at Princess Juliana International Airport on the island of Saint Maarten in the Netherlands Antilles under low-visibility weather. Insufficient warning to the cabin resulted in several passengers and crew still either standing or with unfastened seat belts as the aircraft struck the water. Of 63 occupants, 40 survivors were recovered by U.S. military helicopters.^[11] The survival rate was 63%.

• On 21 August 1963, an Aeroflot Tupolev Tu-124 ditched into the Neva River in Leningrad after running out of fuel. The aircraft floated and was towed to shore by a tugboat which it had nearly hit as it came down on the water. The tug rushed to the floating aircraft and pulled it with its passengers near to the shore where the passengers disembarked onto the tug; all 52 on board escaped without injuries.^[12] The survival rate was 100%.

• On 28 September 1962, Flying Tiger's Super H Constellation passenger aircraft with a crew of 8 and 68 U.S. military (paratrooper) passengers ditched in the North Atlantic about 500 miles west of Shannon, Ireland after losing three engines on a flight to Frankfurt, Germany. 45 of the passengers and 3 crew were rescued, with 23 passengers and 5 crew members being lost in the storm-swept seas. All passengers successfully evacuated the airplane. Those who were lost succumbed in the rough seas. 100% survival rate for landing and evacuation.

• On 4 October 1960, 62 people died when Eastern Air Lines Flight 375 (Lockheed Electra four-engine turbo-prop) plunged wing-first into Boston Harbor after flying into a flock of starlings shortly after takeoff. Three engines lost power, the plane stalled and spun, crashed into water 200 yards offshore, and broke in half. Nine of the 10 survivors had serious injuries. It was the first commercial airline crash in Logan Airport's history, the deadliest air disaster in New England history at the time, and it remains the most deadly crash in US history involving a bird strike.^[13] The survival rate was 14%.

• In October 1956, Pan Am Flight 6 (a Boeing 377) ditched northeast of Hawaii, after losing two of its four engines. The aircraft was able to circle around USCGC Pontchartrain until daybreak, when it ditched; all 31 on board survived.^[14][15] The survival rate was 100%.

• In April 1956, Northwest Orient Airlines Flight 2 (also a Boeing 377) ditched into Puget Sound after what was later decided to be caused by failure of the crew to close the cowl flaps on the plane's engines. All aboard escaped the aircraft after a textbook landing, but four passengers and one flight attendant succumbed either to drowning or to hypothermia before being rescued. The survival rate was 87%.

• On 26 March 1955, Pan Am Flight 845/26 ditched 35 miles from the Oregon coast after an engine tore lose. Despite the tail section breaking off during the impact the aircraft floated for twenty minutes before sinking. Survivors were rescued after a further 90 minutes in the water. The survival rate was 83%.

• On 19 June 1954, Swissair Convair CV-240 HB-IRW ditched into the English Channel because of fuel starvation, which was attributed to pilot error. All three crew and five passengers survived the ditching and could escape the plane. However, three of the passengers could not swim and eventually drowned, because there were no life jackets on board, which was not prescribed at the time. The survival rate was 62%.

• On 16 April 1952, the prototype de Havilland Australia DHA-3 Drover was ditched in the Bismarck Sea between Wewak and Manus Island. The port propeller failed, a propeller blade penetrated the fuselage and the pilot was rendered unconscious; the ditching was performed by a passenger. The survival rate was 100%.

The average survival rate in the water landings listed above is 77%.

[edit] Planes landing on water for other reasons

Aircraft also sometimes end up in water by running off the end of runways, landing in water short of the end of a runway, or even forcibly flown into the water during homicidal events. Twice at LaGuardia Airport, aircraft have rolled into the East River.

• On 30 April 2002, DAS Air Cargo DC-10-30F freighter N800WR approached Entebbe, Uganda runway 35 following a flight from London-Gatwick carrying over 50 tons of cargo. The airplane landed long: 4000–5000 feet down the 12000-foot runway. The nosegear touched down 13 seconds after the main undercarriage. The DC-10 could not be brought to a halt and slid off the runway into Lake Victoria about 100 meters from the southern end of the runway. The DC-10 ended up with the no. 1 and 3 engines submerged and cockpit section separated from the fuselage. The crew members were rescued with a life raft within just 10 minutes of the accident.

• On 3 February 2000, Trans Arabian Air Transport Flight 310 (a Boeing 707-351(C)) carrying cargo grossly overshot the landing strip at Mwanza Airport after a first attempt failed and eventually landed in the middle of Lake Victoria. The plane continued floating after the landing and all five crew survived, some with light injuries.^[16]

• On 12 September 1993, while landing in poor weather conditions at Papeete Faaa airport, Tahiti, an Air France Boeing 747 registered F-GITA hydroplaned, overshot the runway and ended in a lagoon. All 272 passengers and crew evacuated successfully, even though the engines were still running and there was a risk of ingestion.^[17] The survival rate was 100%.

• In 1993 China Airlines Flight 605 (Boeing 747-409) ended up in water after it overran runway 13 at Kai Tak International Airport on landing during a typhoon with wind gusting to gale force. All of the 396 occupants donned life-vests, boarded the eight slide/rafts and no fatalities resulted. The airframe remained above water even after the aircraft was evacuated.^[18]

• In 1989, USAir 5050, a Boeing 737-401 with 63 people aboard overran the runway, landing in the East River and breaking into three pieces, sustained two deaths.^[19]

• In 1985 a DC-10, of American Airlines taking off from Muñoz Marín Airport in Puerto Rico to Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport in Texas overran the runway and nosedived into a nearby lake. No one was injured.

• On 23 January 1982, World Airways Flight 30, landing at Boston Logan International Airport after a flight from Newark, New Jersey, slid off the runway due to ice and landed in Boston Harbor. The cockpit area separated from the remainder of the fuselage at first row of seats. Two passengers in the first row disappeared and were presumed dead, but the other 210 people aboard survived (99% survival)^[20] .

• In 1982, Air Florida Flight 90 went down in the Potomac river after taking off from Washington National Airport. Only 6 out of 79 passengers and crew survived the initial crash, with one of the survivors eventually drowning after helping others to safety. The survival rate was 6%.

• On 1 September 1983, Korean Air Lines Flight 007 was shot down by Soviet jet interceptors over the Sea of Japan, just west of Sakhalin island over prohibited Soviet airspace. All 269 passengers and crew aboard were killed, including Lawrence McDonald, a sitting member of the United States Congress. The survival rate was 0%.

• On 7 August 1980, a Tupolev 154B-1 operated by Tarom Romanian Airlines ditched in the water, 300m short of the runway at Nouadhibou Airport (NDB/GQPP), Mauritania. 1 passenger out of 168 passengers and crew died. The survival rate was 99%.

• In 1978 National Airlines Flight 193 a Boeing 727 Trijet, unintentionally landed in the waters of Escambia Bay near Pensacola Florida after coming down short of the runway during a foggy approach. There were 3 fatalities among 52 passengers and 6 crewmembers, a 95% survival rate.^[21]

• On 22 November 1968 Japan Airlines Flight 2, a DC-8-62 landed short of the runway in San Francisco Bay on approach to San Francisco International Airport. There were no fatalities, and the aircraft itself was in good enough condition to be removed from the water, rebuilt, and flown again.

[edit] Crashing

There is a distinction between a controlled ditching and simply crashing (not even crash-landing) into the water; the latter is capable of killing everyone upon impact and disintegrating the plane. For example:

• Air France Flight 447 killed all 228 aboard in 2009 after crashing in the Atlantic Ocean;
• Adam Air Flight 574 killed all 102 aboard in 2007;
• Armavia Flight 967 killed all 113 aboard in 2006;
• Alaska Airlines Flight 261 killed all 88 aboard in 2000;
• Kenya Airways Flight 431: 10 of 179 (6%) survived in a sea crash off Côte d'Ivoire in 2000;
• EgyptAir Flight 990 killed all 217 aboard in 1999;
• Swissair Flight 111 killed all 229 aboard in 1998;
• SilkAir Flight 185 killed all 104 aboard in 1997;
• American Airlines Flight 320: 8 of 73 (11%) survived in a landing in New York City's East River in 1959.

On a smaller scale, John F. Kennedy, Jr. and his two passengers died in a water crash. As pilot and columnist Patrick Smith comments, these crashes tend to be more memorable than controlled water landings, perhaps fueling the public's suspicions of the survivability of aircraft that hit water.^[22]

[edit] See also

• Emergency landing
• Korean Air Lines Flight 007
• US Airways Flight 1549

[edit] References

[edit] Further reading

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Water landings

• Aviation incidents by result from the Aviation Safety Network; see Off runway in water, CFIT into water, and Ditching.
• Horne, Thomas A. (July 1999). "In-Flight Emergencies: Ditching". AOPA Pilot 42 (7). http://www.aopa.org/pilot/features/inflight9907.html.  (Corrected version of September; see here for some complaints.)
• Schiff, Barry (March 1983). "Water Ways". AOPA Pilot 26 (3).  Reproduced on Equipped To Survive.
• Ditching Myths Torpedoed, by Paul Bertorelli, cites data that show an 88% survival rate for general aviation water ditchings.
• Motley, Elizabeth B. (October 2005), Survival Stressors Faced by Military Aviator/Aircrew Following Ditching Over Salt Water [.pdf]