Need to refresh memory items for ditching?

[BoeingMEL]

Wow, quite a few forced landing reports in the AAIB's September bulletin.

Anyone wishing to read about a near text-book ditching should read the report on G-LUNA. Well done fella! :D bm

[Pace]

Boeing

That one made interesting reading. I had both engines stop mid channel Ireland to STU 10 Years ago due to a jammmed fuel selector on a Seneca twin. Gave me such a fright.
Thankfully it was only momentary but still made the heart skip a beat :{

Moral to this is leave the fuel system well alone over water. Plan to cross on one tank and then only change if you really have to until near land.

Good observation is to carry a cushion or simular, open the door and jam the cushion in place to stop the door from being held closed by water pressure in the event of an engine/s failure
.
Dont cross in a single if their are white caps showing.

That flat looking sea with delicate little wisps of white smudges can look like the welsh mountains when you get close. :rolleyes:

Always keep an idea of wind direction but land along the swells if possible and note ships. He did a good job but bet he wont touch the fuel system in future either :=

Pace

[neilgeddes]

Though I have a seaplane rating I've never thought it would be that much use when ditching a land plane. If the worst happened to me I hope I would at the minimum sqawk 7700, contact ATC or D&D and prepare for impact and evacuation. I think a good pre-flight passenger briefing is invaluable so that everyone has some idea what to expect and what they can usefully do. As for lining up into wind or along the waves - I suspect when you get that low the conditions will be changing too quickly.

[Captain Stable]

Interesting case. BTW, Pace, when I did my B rating many years ago, I flew over to CQF in a Seneca I with an instructor for the weekend to do the training. Halfway over on the way back, a sneaky hand went down to the fuel cocks when I wasn't looking, and the right engine shut down a few seconds later. :eek:

As you suggest, Pace, mid-channel is not the most sensible time to play with the fuel, and certainly not when flying at only 2000'. :=

I've never flown a Lance - I assume the fuel system is very similar to the PA28 series? Down by the left knee, rotary cock with a guarded off position?

One or two other notes for ditching - drop it in AHEAD of a ship if you can, having made sure they can see you and won't run over you.

If going low-level such as 2000', either wear your lifejacket (preferable) or wait until you've ditched to put it on - don't try and put it on and handle a dead-stick aircraft at the same time. It matters less about the pax, of course, but make sure a front-seat passenger doesn't obstruct the controls while trying to struggle into his.

Even in summer, average survival time in the water, unless protected by an immersion suit, is likely to be less than an hour. In winter, assume less than 15 minutes. If there are several of you, daisy-chain yourselves together using the long end of the lifejacket cord (THAT'S why they tell you to leave one end long) - when putting them on, make sure it's always tied on the left. Huddle together as close and tight as you possibly can to share heat and minimise heat loss. Have any kids in the middle of the group. Don't try to swim or kick or wave at ships. It uses too much energy and energy lost = heat lost. To attract attention, don't shout - use the whistle on the lifejacket. Its sound will carry much better than a voice, and you might need to save your voice for later.

As you ditch, or open the door, or climb out, ensure you take a deep breath just before, and make a very conscious effort to hold your breath. If the windshield breaks, or you fall in the water unexpectedly, or get a sudden inrush of water for some other reason, the gasp reflex as water hits your chest is a very strong one and your next intake may be your last, the air being slightly contaminated by seawater. It's a very fast way to drown. :ooh:

Finally, if you want a really, really fun time, go do a HUET course (Helicopter Underwater Evacuation Training). There are a few companies that conduct this - I did mine at a place in Middlesborough. I assume they're still operating. Look it up - I won't name them here in case it's seen as advertising, but if you can't find it, PM me. The pool can simulate anything up to sea state 6, complete with thunder and lightning, wind machines, etc.

[SNS3Guppy]

Moral to this is leave the fuel system well alone over water.


Leave the fuel selector alone unless you're prepared to lose that engine...any time. Not just over water.

I've witnessed far too many pilots who switch tanks just prior to takeoff...setting themselves up for a potential engine failure during or just after takeoff. Pilots who switch tanks approaching the airport when they really can't make a forced landing, due to nowhere to land. Who mindlessly swap tanks or move the selector to alter feed enroute or during an approach, without ever so much as putting themselves in a position to conclude the flight without the engine in question.

One should never move the fuel selector unless one is prepared to deal without that engine. One should never simulate a failure unless prepared in the same way.

Though I have a seaplane rating I've never thought it would be that much use when ditching a land plane.


Actually, a seaplane rating and the training that comes with it is excellent preparation for ditching an airplane. It is, after all, live practice at setting an airplane down on water. Think about it.

[neilgeddes]

Actually, a seaplane rating and the training that comes with it is excellent preparation for ditching an airplane. It is, after all, live practice at setting an airplane down on water. Think about it.

Yes, I don't deny this. It's just that ditching a land plane with fixed undercarriage is never going to be smooth.:)

[Pace]

Leave the fuel selector alone unless you're prepared to lose that engine...any time. Not just over water.

Guppy good point but its not just engines. The earlier citations in particular have a crossfeed selector on the panel which has the tiniest pin holding the selector to the rest of the gubbins.

Break that off and you would merrily watch fuel burning at a remarkable rate with both jet engines feeding off the one tank.

A friend carries a set of thin pliers so that he could turn the selector should it ever break.

From memory I think there was an allowable 500 ibs difference between sides and after that the aircraft would become uncontrollable 500 ibs is no time in the citation. A real emegency situation. Fuel should be handled with extreme care :)

Pace

[Final 3 Greens]

I met a guy in the US who once had the fuel selector shaft break off and who had to do a very sharpish diversion as he had run the other tank a long way down before changing.

[SNS3Guppy]

It's just that ditching a land plane with fixed undercarriage is never going to be smooth.


That's why it's called an emergency. The situation is already less than pleasurable. Your only mission is do do your worst to make it better.

[Molesworth 1]

Interesting that in both accidents the aircraft was stalled just above the water. As in the Robin Hood bay accident this can lead to unhappy results. The CAA leaflet recommends landing in a level attitude.