Would these 17 fatalities been avoided if the crew has SS6 floats appropriate for the Atlantic and been more comfortable ditching?
The impact of this crash was sufficient for the sponsons (and their integral dinghies) to detach as I recall. I very much doubt sea state six floats would have made any difference to the poor souls with multiple broken bones who drowned in the freezing cold water.
You can talk about the design flaw and the inadequate run-dry time for decades if you like. The simple truth is that if the Captain had listened to his co-pilot, who twice told him that they had reached the words 'Land Immediately' in the checklist, there would have been no accident to survive, merely a controlled ditching.