by Dave Weiman
Exploring new travel destinations remains an all-time-favorite forum topic at the AOPA Aviation Summit, such as flying to the Caribbean with Rick Gardner and “Caribbean Sky Tours” (www.caribbeanskytours.com). A trip like that can only be done safely if you know what to do if you have to ditch at sea.
Different styles of life vests or personal floatation devices (PFDs) and life rafts were inflated during the “Ditching and Water Survival” forum during the AOPA Aviation Summit.
How to safely “ditch” your aircraft in water, “egress” your aircraft once down, “summon for help” before and after touchdown, and “survive” the elements, were the topics at the “Ditching and Water Survival” forum held during the AOPA Aviation Summit in Long Beach, Calif., November 11 and 12, 2010.
Led by aviation survival expert Doug Ritter of the Equipped To Survive Foundation, an organization dedicated to saving lives through education and the promotion of survival equipment (www.equipped.org), the presentation was so popular that Ritter held two sessions during the Summit. Ritter communicates well the importance of knowing how to ditch and survive with the same determination you will need in an emergency situation. He’s like the school teacher that doesn’t give you much leeway.
Remember three words when an emergency occurs: “Mayday, Mayday, Mayday!” Ritter strongly encourages pilots to make their distress call earlier than later, and to be prepared for the expected.
Giving your “location” is the most important message you can communicate to air traffic control and other pilots on common frequencies (i.e. 121.5 Mhz). If you have a GPS, identify your coordinates and relay your exact position. Then explain your situation, whether it is an engine failure or fuel shortage that put you into this emergency situation.
Next, announce your altitude, course, and your intentions (i.e. ditching, diverting, 180-dreee turn back to your departure point).
You want “time” on your side, said Ritter, yet time is of the essence. You do not want to waste the time of rescuers by having them search an area where you cannot be found.
And don’t worry if you make a mayday call and end up not needing help, said Ritter. “I’ve never known of a rescuer who was mad because you did not need their help in the end.”
You can increase your chances of getting picked up quickly if you have a 406 Mhz Personal Locator Beacon (PLB). Unlike an emergency location transmitter (ELT), which will not transmit under water, PLBs are waterproof and stay with you, and therefore, will not sink with your aircraft. Ritter recommends the McMurdo “FastFind 210” PLB ($250.00) and the ACR “SarLink” PLB ($350). The “SPOT” GPS satellite messenger is not recommended by Ritter because it uses a computerized database, and if your subscription has expired or been lost, there will be no distress signal. The SPOT also does not have global coverage or a Doppler backup location like PLBs do.
In the water, you will drift from where you ditched. That’s why it is important to communicate early not only your position (latitude and longitude preferred), but also your altitude, so rescuers can determine how far you might glide, and then determine how far you will drift from your actual touch-down location based on the current at the time. The higher your altitude, the more time you will have to communicate, glide and prepare to ditch, so fly as high as you can whenever crossing water.
In preparing to ditch, remind your passengers what to expect once you touch down on the water, assuming you have thoroughly briefed them prior to takeoff. Remind passengers to make sure the constant wear personal floatation device (PFD) they have been wearing throughout the entire flight is securely fastened. BTW, Ritter does not recommend the less expensive airline-type life vests. His demonstration of the different life vests proved that the only life vest to own is a constant wear. For less than $100.00, you can buy a quality constant wear life vest. The “ComfortMax” inflatable PFD is available through “Revere Survival Products” at www.reveresurvival.com. Do not cut corners when purchasing your life saving equipment!
Have your passengers stow away and secure anything loose in the cockpit, such as headsets, as well as false teeth and eyeglasses; tighten their seatbelts; and keep their shoes on for warmth and protection.
Check to make sure your personal locator beacon is connected to your belt or jacket; and make sure your life raft and survival kit are within easy reach.
Unless you are headed somewhere in particular, like shore or a ship, establish your “minimum sink rate,” which will give you the maximum amount of time aloft, says Ritter. If not listed in your pilot operator’s handbook, this speed is typically approximately half way between your stall speed and best glide speed. Once you reach 1,000 feet above the water, establish your normal approach speed, which will enable you to make a better landing.
Know where your main and alternate exits are, and open windows and wedge doors open prior to touch down to allow water to enter the cockpit (the exception being a Columbia/Cessna Corvalis with gull wing doors). You do not want to have your door jammed shut because the fuselage is twisted from the impact with the water. Expect the windshield or windscreen to cave in, but don’t count on it.
If you have sea or air sickness medication, Ritter encourages you to take it prior to touchdown if appropriate, and do not worry about getting drowsy. Ritter says that he has never known of anyone falling asleep during a water-ditching emergency. Ritter also recommends carrying swimming goggles and putting them on prior to touchdown.
Landing Direction: Rivers, land with the current. Lakes, land into the wind. Oceans and large lakes, land parallel to swells and waves. It is best to land on top of a swell; landing on the bottom of a swell is okay; and landing on the side of a swell is the most challenging. If you cannot land parallel to the swell, land on the backside of it, but avoid landing in the face of it. Landing into a headwind can reduce your airspeed by 1/3 to 1/2.
Expect rapid deceleration once you touch down (approximately 50-100 feet, depending on airspeed). The slower your touchdown speed, the better – 5-10 knots above stall speed with power on is preferred. Avoid a full stall and land slightly nose high, 9-12 degrees.
Low-wing aircraft should use minimum flaps (no more than 50 percent) because of the tendency to nose over, and high-wing aircraft should use maximum flaps, except for the Cessna 206. If you have retractable landing gear, keep it in the retracted position. Whether you have fixed or retractable landing gear does not affect survivability, says Ritter.
Announce to passengers no sooner than one minute prior to touchdown, “Assume the crash position!” Too much advance notice can cause passengers to look up just prior or during touchdown, resulting in possible injury.
Your aircraft will either skip, splash, or flip over. Skipping is most likely for retracts; just keep flying the aircraft. Flipping over is rare and unlikely if you keep the nose up. Regardless, people still usually manage to get out over 92% of the time, according to Ritter.
Don’t release your seatbelt until after the aircraft comes to a standstill, and always maintain a reference point in the aircraft as you exit. Once out of the aircraft, if you cannot distinguish up from down, inflate your life vest, and it will take you to the surface. Do not inflate your life vest or raft before exiting the aircraft. To inflate your vest, jerk or pull hard the inflation strap. “Once out of the aircraft, do not go back inside,” warned Ritter.
Cold Gasp Reflex (CGR) is an uncontrollable exhalation that occurs with rapid immersion in water starting at 77 degrees Fahrenheit and is fully involved at 50 degrees. It only lasts a short time, but can be deadly if you are not prepared.
If you are concerned about holding your breath long enough to get out, get a Spare Air tank, which requires brief training in advance. Spare Air is used by scuba divers as a backup device, and should not be confused with onboard supplemental oxygen devices on aircraft. Always exhale as you surface.
Exposure is a big concern, especially if you like to take chances and fly across the Great Lakes. You can do everything right and land without a scratch, but unless you are wearing a survival suit and/or have a life raft, time is not on your side. Even with the water temperature at 72 degrees Fahrenheit, you have about 1 hour before hypothermia sets in.
Limit your movement in water to reduce heat loss. Close up your groin by crossing your legs and hold your arms closed.
Keep a knife in your pocket at all times. You never know when you might need it to cut seat belts, tether lines or use as a prying device.
A life raft is your best bet for survival, especially in colder waters or during long exposure. Life rafts can be rented at many airports along the coast, or purchased for $1,000 to $3,000. The more expensive rafts have canopies and more well-equipped emergency kits, which are nice features that could make your experience safer and more comfortable. Life rafts need to be serviced every one to three years, depending on the manufacturer and packaging. It generally costs about $600 to have a life raft reconditioned.
If you get out of the aircraft on the surface, tether the life raft to the aircraft, then pull the inflation line. Life raft tethers are designed to break in the event your aircraft sinks, so don’t worry about that; worry about losing the life raft in windy conditions, says Ritter.
Avoid hypothermia by huddling your body or huddling with others.
No matter how thirsty you might become, do not drink seawater, urine or blood.
A person floating in the middle of a large body of water is very difficult to spot. Ritter recommends acquiring a rescue streamer, signal mirror and rescue laser flare to attract attention.
Ritter warns pilots of the hazards to people and life rafts when flares are used. “Be extremely careful using any pyrotechnic flare,” warns Ritter. Green rescue laser flares are supposed to be the preferred color for signaling both during the day and night. A bright flashlight is also safe and can be very effective signaling at night.
A signal mirror is the most inexpensive signal tool you can have. The holographic image on a credit card has been used to signal for rescue, but a good signal mirror is less than $15 and can been used to signal rescue boats and aircraft as far as 50 miles away, depending on visibility. Rescue streamers are excellent as well.
Make sure you keep your handheld radio in a waterproof pouch (can be purchased at most boating supply stores), and not a ziplock bag, which has a tendency to open and leak.
Above everything else, maintain a “positive mental attitude” and encourage your passengers to do likewise, and “never give up!” says Ritter. Ritter believes that preparation is everything. The more prepared you are, the more confident you will be and competent in your lifesaving efforts. “Smart people survive!” says Ritter.
You will be glad to know that 88 percent of all aircraft water ditchings are not fatal, and 92 percent of the time, the occupants are able to get out of the aircraft after landing.
For additional information on water ditching and survival, refer to www.equipped.org, www.aopa.org and www.faa.gov.
The next time you see a U.S. Coast Guard or Canada Search and Rescue crewman, or a member of the Civil Air Patrol, thank them for their service!
