Tenpennorth
Looks like he had insufficient power to hover, hence the heavy landing in the drink.
Was he possibly trying to achieve tranlational lift to get off again? The sea state didnt help him either.
Easy to be wise after the event but an abandoned take-off, followed by a significant offloading of weight - ships nearby etc. - might have saved the day.
He might well have been taking on water though, and took the decision to go as opposed to losing the aircraft.
It would be interesting to read a tranlation of the pilots report. Anybody know the telephone code for Siberia?
JB