I have been thinking about this overnight. ..
Now I have never been in a Westwind, but I imagine like most small jets it is very cramped. With the F/O incapacitated the Captain may well have been the only person able to open the door, let's face it emergency exits can be hard to open on dry land in daylight, let alone bobbing in the ocean on a dark night. Once having opened the door perhaps the only option was for the Captain to swim out as he may have been blocking egress for others, where he then assisted from outside the aircraft.
Last edited by Howard Hughes; 14th Jan 2010 at 22:22.