When I was younger, I ditched a 172 with three passengers aboard after an engine failure about 3 back for the right runway at SFO. We were over the Bay and the only thing on land that appeared to offer a hundred yards or so of flat ground was the old San Mateo landfill site just east of Coyote Point. The wind was 23 knots out of the west. The touchdown area was a road among large rubbish piles. We were too low to get around into wind and had to take the tailwind. On short final to what might have been a fatal end, a truck pulled right in front of us onto the road. I used some of the considerably excess airspeed to zoom up till the prop stopped and then lowered the nose, shifted a bit left and bled off the airspeed as we headed for a small boat in the water. I had never had a lesson or briefing on ditching, but I had done a little investigation myself and I remembered that the ideal touchdown is tail first and hold it in if you can, to keep it from bouncing up and pitching the nose down.
We did the full drill. Both doors jammed open with items of clothing. Hands on seatbelt clasps, etc. We splashed down, with a 23 knot tailwind, close enough to the boat to splash water on the occupants. I went (fell) through the windshield. I broke water about ten feet from the aircraft and saw it had only gone onto its nose. The passengers were climbing out, one of them with his luggage. The three of them just changed their spots to stay dry as the aircraft slowly blew over onto its back. They ended up standing on the belly with water just around their ankles. I was treading water and holding onto a strut. A Coast Guard helicopter came from the airport, set up in a hover about 100 feet away, with a frogman in the door holding a blackboard asking if anyone was hurt. They slowly moved sideways towards us, but the rotor wash blew one guy into the water beside me and we waved them off and the three of them went the 75 yards to shore in two trips in the boat. The boat came back and I just held onto the transom, avoided the prop, and got a tow to shore.
What level of experience do you have to have to be able to pull that off? I had just gotten my PPL at Langley the week before. I had 53 hours total time, and under 25 PIC. I know we are all alive because some truck driver didn't check for aircraft on final for the dump.
I do want to make some short observations. Shoes? There is a long list of things more important than your shoes. You open the doors on all forced landings, not just water. Yes, it is because of the potential for airframe bending and not being able to exit, or rescuers not being able to get in to assist you. What the poster above said is good advice, pull the handle back on the open door so the bolt protrudes fully out. That will stop any closure. The most important thing is that the door is open. If it is open, it will stay open.
I post at the Canadian site as well and I see some of our good posters over here. Over there, we have had some discussions about engine failure/forced landing. The simple truth is that if you have lost power and are coming to earth somewhere not in your plans, remember this. If you arrive at the ground/water in the landing attitude, about five knots above stall, and touch down on land or sea under control at minimum flying speed, and you do not hit something that takes you from 50 mph to zero instantly, you will not be killed. Your passengers will not be killed. You will probably not even be injured. Most of you will have done your forced landing practices over nice green fields. There are some beauties there between Cloverdale and White Rock. But, you can end up doing your first forced landing in the ocean.
It is sad that the older gentleman passed.