My training was basically, "Set up parallel to the waves,Open doors, lock doors (so the fuselage doesn't twist and trap you inside)tighten harness, you will go over (fixed gear), the windscreen will blow inward. Don't inflate your maewest until you are out of the aircraft to prevent puncturing it on your way out.
i asked how they were sure the windscreen would implode, 'All the other ones did."
On my solo cross country leg from the Big Island to Maui it gave me something to think about. Really helped pass the time....
OZ

I’m firmly in the camp of, “if you wade ashore after your at sea ditching-you’re good”

As a sailor I applaud his flying skills...even when the plane is crashing.

quote:

Originally posted by FlyingScot:

I get a bit offended when folks Monday morning quarterback . . .

Let’s hold the darts, lets get some facts and then pilots and the aviation will learn from this - and better for the knowledge. Please.

Thank you.

Nobody needs to get everyone’s panties all wadded up.

The OP asked if this was safe. If swimmers were in danger. If the power off airplane has enough authority to “miss” them. Stuff like that.

It was a great ditch. Textbook. All that swell stuff, parallel, etc etc, blah blah, doesn’t mean much on the beach where it is calm. Where he ditched is akin to ditching in a lake. The effect of waves that size is basically zero. I’m a Navy guy, we taught this shit, my buddy ditched a dead stick P3 in the IO. It was perfect conditions for a ditch and that guy nailed it. No darts thrown whatsoever.

Were any swimmers endangered? Well, it certainly appears at least 3 were overflown or pretty darn close to overflown. Watch the video and tell me otherwise. Were they in danger? Maybe. Nobody would be so ecstatic if they found a 12 year old in the wheel well.

It’s easily arguable that the ditch put swimmers at risk. To say otherwise is retarded. Was the video misleading and he was well out of the way of swimmers? It doesn’t look like it but camera angles can be deceiving.

If it turns out he ditched close to people, then yes of course a small sidestep, easily accomplished, would have been safer for swimmers less safe for pilot.

That’s not throwing darts. If he plunked it in close to swimmers he got lucky that nobody in water got hurt. I guarantee that if he had hit somebody he would be the first guy saying I wish I had lined up 30 yards further out.

Nobody is hanging this guy. Everybody is glad it worked out. The people on the ground very well might have been at risk.

To answer the original question, shortly and succinctly, yes it was perfectly safe IMO. The pilot could see his margins all the way in and set it down pretty as could be expected.

46 second phone video of the Avenger

It looks like he overflew a couple of swimmers but I don't see anyone in the immediate area where he set it down. Lucky? Maybe. But at the end of the day, nobody got hurt. I've seen a few videos of small planes being emergency landed on roads and highways, often in the midst of traffic, and those don't usually end up in arguments and recriminations about "what if he had hit a car." Better than crashing into them in a ball of flames.

I do believe there were a few Baby Ruths released into the water by those last 2 swimmers.

Here's the TBM after being plucked from the water, wings still fold back, being made ready to load on the flatbed and get approval to travel back to VAC.

The pilot was reckless and is damn lucky no one was injured or killed. When I saw the video I was pissed. He could have put the plane 150 feet further out and it would have been much safer for the swimmers. It looks that he came within 15-20 feet of swimmers. Completely unacceptable.

In the article below, in Florida, this exact scenario played out a few years ago and the pilot, attempting to save his own life by landing as close as possible to shore, runs over and kills a dad and his daughter.

https://www.floridatoday.com/s...ves-1-dead/13248801/

It would be awesome if the plane had a forward looking camera, such as a GoPro. Then we could see it from the Pilots perspective.
.

My biggest takeaway is ..... it’s 2021 and I just read about a TBM Avenger ditching in the water.....little bit of a brain reboot and a “huhwhatnow?” Thought.

quote:

Originally posted by bubbatime:
The pilot was reckless and is damn lucky no one was injured or killed. When I saw the video I was pissed. He could have put the plane 150 feet further out and it would have been much safer for the swimmers. It looks that he came within 15-20 feet of swimmers. Completely unacceptable.

........

In order for me to take your comment seriously, can you reference the point in flight at which the engine quit? Altitude and air speed at time? Flight charastics of a TBM without engine power? All of those would be necessary to a non-pilot such as myself to make an observed and logical conclusion as to whether or not he chose the best available option of the worst options he would ever have to choose from.

quote:

Originally posted by cslinger:
My biggest takeaway is ..... it’s 2021 and I just read about a TBM Avenger ditching in the water.....little bit of a brain reboot and a “huhwhatnow?” Thought.

Juxtaposed with trying to comprehend the science fiction-no-fact that there is enough atmosphere on The Angry Red Planet to sustain the flight of a winged aircraft from Earth.

the only 'armchair' that counts is the one the pilot was sitting in when he ditched

I think he did an awesome job

quote:

Originally posted by cslinger:
My biggest takeaway is ..... it’s 2021 and I just read about a TBM Avenger ditching in the water.....little bit of a brain reboot and a “huhwhatnow?” Thought.

I imagine that was probably about a weekly occurrence during WW2!

He did an outstanding job of ditching the aircraft.

I personally think he did so too close to shore to reasonably presume he wouldn't endanger swimmers. That's also where you could expect the highest surf.

An engine out situation never comes at a good time, although all pilots train for it. When you do find yourself in that situation, reusing the airplane again doesn't rank high on the list. No one was hurt, so he had a good outcome.

Kudos to the pilot for saving his own life, and not taking anyone else's.

The amazing thing to me is that the spectator who was filming didn't drop his cell phone when it became clear that there was trouble. Maybe they are learning...

What is that old saying? Any landing you can swim away from is a good one.

Any landing where the airplane doesn’t require maintenance is a great landing. If you can reuse the airplane again it’s an awesome landing.

Any landing that needs maintenance is a good landing.

quote:

Originally posted by RichardC:

quote:

Originally posted by cslinger:
My biggest takeaway is ..... it’s 2021 and I just read about a TBM Avenger ditching in the water.....little bit of a brain reboot and a “huhwhatnow?” Thought.

Juxtaposed with trying to comprehend the science fiction-no-fact that there is enough atmosphere on The Angry Red Planet to sustain the flight of a winged aircraft from Earth.

I know I’m gonna kick myself for this and I am fully prepared to own up to my dumbassery.....but I don’t get it???