George,
If you think the weather in the GOM at the time of the accident was not so bad....ask yourself this question....what are the chances of the aircraft remaining up right following a ditching?
Assuming the aircraft rolls over....and you now find yourself in the water without an immersion suit....with air temps just above freezing...and the water temperature at 64 degrees....just what are your survival times?
With the wave heights, wind, and the aircraft rolling over....what are the chances they even deployed the life raft...much less got into thing?
If you are going flying over water....you must also consider the wave height as the sea may just not be a suitable place to make a forced landing.
That just applies to a "controlled forced landing" with minimum impact forces.
Safety Stand Down for the entire GOM?
How many operators now? How many aircraft is it......over 400?