Originally Posted by infrequentflyer789
In fact, very few of them (6% according to the report) had life jackets even when they had evacuated out onto the wings, over half managed to grab a seat cushion though... Who knows why - they were very lucky though as a result, the Hudson is not a very benign swimming environment at that time of year.
Reading the report and timming, it was obvious that they took their survival stuff only once ditched. Nobody in the cabin was supposed to be aware that they will end in the water... and it was certainly not easy to figure it out in the "brace for impact" position.
Originally Posted by infrequentflyer789
I doubt ditching was contemplated - deciding to ditch implies some semblance of controlled flight, of which there is no evidence. They had speed to the end - just not forwards.
Lack of forward speed (engines?), but controled flight attitude... it works both way.