Am I speaking a different kind of English ...or what.....?
I say again. Inadvertant inflation of the 139 floats IN FLIGHT has never happened. CFIT (into water) has. This is not a question of absolutes but a question of probabilities and as far as I can tell you get a better deal betting on arming the floats...... which, by the way have no limiting speed because they are designed NOT to inflate in flight.
Now I'm not daft enough to say never but based on the facts of the case I'll continue to put my money on arming the floats when I'm over water.
The RFM simply states ' for overwater operations - FLOATS ARM'.
As far as electrical failures are concerned please find out the facts of the case before casting aspersions. Nothing wrong with the basic design but HF related issues can bite you in the bum anywhere anytime.
G