Bitchin' about [not] Ditchin' the Herk seems problematic at best - on fire?
C-130 Broad Area Review January 1998)
"3.3 Ditching/Bailout
3.3.1 A review of ditching/bailout information and procedures in various flight manuals reveals a significant variation in implied survivability of a ditching maneuver. Flight Manuals managed by AMC and Air Force Special Operations Command (AFSOC) have significantly different guidance.
Specifically, T.O. 1C-130H-1 managed by AMC states:
"…ditching of transport-type airplanes can usually be accomplished with a high degree of success." Pg. 3-71 under "ditching."
3.3.2 However T.O.-1C-130(A)U-1, managed by AFSOC, states
"…ditching of the AC-130U can be accomplished with a low probability of aft crew member survivability. The flight deck may be survivable, but ditching should be considered an absolute last resort for any crewmember." Pg. 3-90 under "ditching."
3.3.3 Another apparent contradiction appears in T.O. 1C-130H-1 pg. 3-71 under "ditching characteristics"
"…Reasonably high probability that the airplane can be landed on water without major collapse of structure or a sudden rush of water into occupied compartments."
3.3.4 Compare this citation to the following language found in T.O. 1C-130(A)U-1 pg. 3-90 under "ditching characteristics"
"…reasonably high probability the aircraft structure will collapse followed by a sudden rush of water into occupied compartments."
3.3.5 These two flight manuals addressing the same subject portray vastly different projections of success for a ditching attempt. Of similar concern the diagram on page 3-76 of T.O. 1C-130(H)H-1 titled "Emergency Exits-Water" depicts a fully intact C-130 floating in the water. None of the aircraft in the three most recent C-130 ditchings survived intact. The referenced diagram gives support to the idea of a survivable ditching...."
C-130 Broad Area Review
Find Herculean ditchings here:
List of C-130 Hercules crashes - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
1982 Flight Globular story here:
1982 | 2566 | Flight Archive
HerkyBird
NATOPS:
http://info.publicintelligence.net/USNavy-C130T.pdf (20.5Mb)
Physical page numbers 780-88 for Emergency Ditching Procedures