Originally Posted by
NigelOnDraft
I am surprised by the numbers here who seemed to think an airliner would break up on ditching
Nigel, actually I am not, but may be we are talking modern construction techniques.
In the 70s we were shown a film of a model HS-801 ditching in a water tank. The recommended profile was a wheels up landing with the rear fuselage rake entering the water first. As the aircraft slowed the nose 'hammered' down in what we were told was 25g (IIRC) and in the actual aircraft would lead to floor failure and the nose breaking off.
The first time we susspected that a ditching was actually survivable was when a Dutch Atlantic had his engine cowling blow open in flight. All survived the ditching. The next time it was proven was when Art Stacey ditched one in the Moray Firth.
So perceived wisdom was that ditchings were not survivable in modern jets and many are perhaps unaware of those instances that were successful.