The only thing we can do is to write to these crap publications. The email for this one is [email protected]. I have just done my bit, telling them their reporter wrote complete nonsense.
We did have a similar thread here recently but I can’t find it.
Their incentive is not to report exact news but to report things that sell though, so doubt they’ll do much. Newspapers like The Sun need to be sensationalist, and (I might be wrong about that) appeal to relatively uneducated populations anyway who won’t have any idea of what even sounds reasonable.
I guess this guy had an engine failure over the sea or a built-up area, so he headed for the beach, which is the sensible thing to do.
The article is 2 months old.
I always email these rags when I see something like this. If thousands of people do that, eventually the tone might change. If I was running a paper I would still do whatever gets people to buy it but I would not knowingly publish simple factually wrong rubbish. Why would one?
Peter wrote:
I have just done my bit, telling them their reporter wrote complete nonsense.
I’ll save my breath for more important things. But we need more stories like that, and a voting mechanism so we can make a ranking. 
Truly amazing. My understanding is he had an induction failure while performing in an airshow at relatively low level, and with few options he performed a textbook glide (or near-glide) and ditching.
I’m looking forward to the AAIB report on this – not often they get to analyse a ditching with so much documentary evidence – hopefully some lessons for us all to learn.
What is the best ditching procedure for a TB20?
Obviously gear remains up, but what about flaps, and attitude?
Your AFM should have a recommendation.
Here is a very good Barry Schiff article.
http://www.equipped.org/bschiff-ditching.htm
A PC12 off the coast of Japan floated for one or two days, which says something for having a pressurised hull and an overwing emegency exit.
RobertL18C wrote:
Here is a very good Barry Schiff article.
A very nice article, thank you!
I agree with what Barry has written in that valuable article, except for:
After initial contact with the water, apply maximum up-elevator (assuming it is still attached) to keep the nose out of the waterQuote
You would not do that when you land under normal circumstances, why would you suddenly do an entirely different landing technique when you would still like to survive the landing?
Though I have never ditched, I have landed airplanes on their bellies, on the water, thousands of times, all successful. The absolute LAST thing you want to do is to get the aircraft porpoising on the water, or worse, skipping back into the air with less than flying speed. A stall, roll off or severe pitch down are the certain result, and that will be likely fatal.
Instead (and not in conflict with what Barry has written in the larger sense) maintain the pitch attitude of the aircraft as if your life depended on it – it does! Do not drop the plane onto the water, fly it on under control. Once on the water, maintain control as long as you can. You will lose control at some point, the more slowly you’re going when that happens, the very much better.
As with a “normal” landing, the best outcome results from contacting the surface flying as parallel as possible to the surface, under control, decelerating. As I have done many times, I would rather arrive to very short final approach (assuming that you’re not trying for a short water landing) carrying at least 10 knots extra speed. This will allow you to stretch the flare, and assure that you have exactly the control you want before you set it on the surface, under good control. When you feel/hear the first part of the airframe contacting the water, HOLD THAT ATTITUDE no matter what. Of course, apply control input to achieve this, but do not allow the airplane to pitch up or down, or roll. Anything other than that is to invite a pilot induced oscillation, which can only be fixed by going around, which you cannot do with no power.
This landing, starting at about 1:18
Is an example of what I’m saying. It sort of worked, as the PBY is a big plane, able to withstand a hard landing, and has a long arm big inertia. If that landing were flown in a Lake amphibian, or belly landing a light wheel plane, it would have ended like this:
Yeah, I know he was taking off, but in either case, the aircraft was allowed to become airborne (with the application of lots of up elevator) below flying speed. If the pitch attitude of the aircraft were held in the appropriate attitude, that takeoff would have been safe, as would a landing made with the same attention to control.
The only time you should give up control of an aircraft, and accept being along for the ride, is when the plane is moving so slowly that control is no long possible. Otherwise – fly it!
The article also might point out the need to stick together after ditching – passengers on the Airbus wing in Sully being a good example in case the aircraft is floating and the sea is calm.
Hanging on to each other to help conserve some body heat is also relevant.
Have undertaken water training for AOC reasons but hopefully there are forum members who have taken full submerged cabin egress type training and can provide feedback.
