@minimaman: The Indian Ocean isn't some smooth, unruffled surface where an airliner could skim the surface before coming to rest - even if it were being flown by a great pilot, rather than just relying on its natural stability as you're suggesting. An aircraft hitting water at 200kts is not going to remain intact, it will be smashed to pieces. Imagine what a truck would look like after hitting a motorway bridge at 60mph, then scale that up by a factor of 10 for the higher energy of the aircraft speed you're suggesting. The only large pieces remaining intact will be those torn off at the root by the impact, such as wings and tail surfaces.