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

aart wrote:

If you say ‘check sea state’ you mean you won’t fly if waves are > x m and/or surface winds > y knots? Criteria?

Yes. No desire to splashdown in nasty stormy weather waves. Wx should be so as to allow SAR units to dispatch.

aart wrote:

The med differs quite a bit between the seasons

Right now water temps between 12 and 17 C in the affected area. In the spring the water is colder than in early winter. It will be further south so tendency is for temperatures to rise and not get lower anymore. aart wrote:

You may want to be high so you can glide towards a boat/ship. So look ahead but also remember what vessel you have just passed, all taking into account the wind.

That’s and excellent idea thanks. I thought about making user waypoints (approximate, with track) when I see ships in foreflight. aart wrote:

You may even go as far as to check the schedule of ferries and estimate where they are when.

I’ll look into that. Good idea!

aart wrote:

Or do some thorough search on where the US 5th fleet is, nothing will make you more famous than a dead-stick landing on a carrier.

Omg I can see the headlines. I like this one best :)
Where are they currently?

@aart & @antonio
Thanks, taken into account!

“AFAIK SAR units are available all across the med 24/7 or am i dreaming?”

I was told by someone who does arial SAR ops in the med: not much, he complained about lack of infrastructure and he mentioned he is there “just for compliance with aviation & maritime rules”, I wil not bet my life too much on it but one can count on maritime traffic and liesure boats around the place ;)

I can only speak for Spain and my impression is that it is available 24/7 and that they are a professional bunch of people having saved many lives..

I was referring to north/east of Morroco, but IMO one need to stay close to the coast (1h?) in a SEP over water unless you have a clear idea of what the arial SAR guys are able to deliver themselves?

Otherwise I see no issue with flying a SEP over open water for long hours if one is happy to wait days for boat rescue (if you think about scanario) or happy with a lucky feeling (if you think about probability), while the risk of ditching is really tiny it seems dellusional to expect a pulled out in the next 30min after the mayday call…

Depending on water temperature, a wet suit might me advisable. As a reference, I always have to wear one if the water temperature drops below 16°C.

Without a raft I wouldn’t do it.

„Here is a news article about ditching an sr22 that I can’t access from the eu. Could someone with a vpn post it please?

From Facebook:
We departed TISX (St Croix, USVI) at approximately 08:30 local time headed back home to KGSO (Greensboro, NC) with fuel stops in MBPV (Provinciales Airport, Turks & Caicos) and KFXE (Ft Lauderdale Executive, FL). Estimated flight time to MBPV approximately 3 hours. Altitude of flight 8,000 feet; IFR Flight plan

Approximately 2 hours into our flight the yellow “Low Oil Pressure” warning light came on on my Avidyne panel;

I cross checked the reading (approx 25 psi) with the analog gauge – confirmed;

I informed ATC I had a low oil pressure warning indicator light on. Oil pressure continued to drop;

I declared emergency and informed ATC of fuel and souls on board; Instructed Dan to get and put on life vest and I made the raft accessible in the back seat – ready to deploy;

ATC suggested Grand Turk airport so I turned the plane in that direction and established best glide speed;

Oil pressure reading at 2 psi;

Strong engine vibration and engine/prop stopped;

Attempted restart – no go – Turned off fuel;

At 1500 feet deployed chute;

Airplane landed in the water (belly down);

Pulled raft from back seat onto the wing and pulled the inflator handle;

Raft deployed but flipped over (up side down);

I jumped into the water and flipped the raft right side up and assisted passenger into it;

We remained in the raft until picked up by Princess Regal Cruise ship.”

I fly 1-2 hours over warm water with just life jackets, no life raft. I often see yachts, ferries, cargo ships, etc that would make good candidates to ditch near. But even so, that is probably unwise. But so is SEP flying to begin with.

How heavy are the rafts? I am considering taking a ditching course.