"In the Unlikely Event of ?"

“In the Unlikely Event of ?”

Mark Phelps

Thursday, July 03, 2008 at 08:00 AM ET

Verified

Key Takeaways:

Pilots should mentally prepare for a water landing, even inland, as lakes or rivers can be emergency landing sites.
After a water impact, expect extreme disorientation (scared, cold, wet, dark, unable to tell up from down); keep your seatbelt on until the aircraft stops, then open the door while still buckled.
The critical egress method is to avoid swimming; instead, use a hand-over-hand, step-over-step technique, maintaining contact with the aircraft's structure to "walk" to the exit, even if inverted or submerged.

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With the coming long holiday weekend, and summer flying in general, it’s a safe bet that the amount of over-water flying increases manifold. The risk of a water landing is remote, but engines do fail. So it’s worth investing the thought ahead of time to scope out what you’d do … IF. And don’t discount the possibility of a water landing if you live far from one of the coasts, or if you make it a practice never to venture offshore. A lake or river might be the only visible flat spot — especially at night — should the engine suddenly suffer from terminal silence.

For me, the enduring takeaway from a water-survival exercise a few years ago was the simple part. Assume that when the banging and thrashing stops, you will be really, really scared, cold and wet; and you will not be able to see. If the airplane is right side up, it will be a total coincidence. Even then, you will likely not be able to tell which way is up.