PPRuNe Forums - Twin Otter crash

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- - Twin Otter crash (https://www.pprune.org/accidents-close-calls/652830-twin-otter-crash.html)

Quote:

sure would be trying to work out that acute angle to the swell crest, as slamming into the water (face of a swell at a near right angle) in an airplane is a much harder stop than it would seem! I have spent a lot of time looking down at ocean from the cockpit of a single, thinking how I would ditch it. In my flying boat, in mild conditions in the nearby lake, I can practice

Agree 100% Mr. Pilot DAR:

I have also flown the Twin Otter on floats in salt water, even in a protected cove with good planning one can hit hard and shake the fillings out the teeth.
(No soft rubber tires, no soft shock absorbers on a rigid metal only float plane, like hitting concrete if you don't grease it on)

The Twin Otter on wheels is a pussy cat. On floats it can be a tiger.

"Just one other thing..."

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sea Plane Driver (Post 11444503)

Thanks for the input. Just a nitpick, but the distance between swells, (period), can vary, the buggers are neither parallel nor concentric. Projecting a flight path based on a straight line (acute angle) can be deceptive. Since "they all look alike", trying to estimate height and rate is difficult, especially through a canopy, descending. As far as I can remember, only one successful ditching: PanAm Clipper...

out