Is it possible to put pontoons under an airliner so that it could float like a smaller plane? ?

Question

If an airliner could be made to float on water the passengers could survive for hours until they were rescued. Is such a thing possible?

Answer 1

It's technically possible but not economically viable.

In the early days of commercial air travel, there were aircraft that were specifically designed to land on water, and people went to a pier or dock to board instead of a gate.  It made many places accessible to air travel that didn't have nearby airports, as long as they were near water.  As air travel advanced, airports were constructed and airplanes were no longer designed to land on water (and there were always land-based airplanes, too).  Today, seaplanes, as they are called, are quite rare.

Big airliners today would be extremely difficult to put on pontoons.  They could be designed from the ground up to land on water (Howard Hughes' "Spruce Goose" was one of the largest aircraft ever, and it was designed to land on water), but there's no economic incentive to do so.  All air travel today, for all practical purposes, uses land-based airports.

With respect to ditching, it's so incredibly rare that it would make absolutely no sense to design aircraft to land on water just in case they might have to do so in an accident.  And even when an aircraft is designed for water, you need fairly calm water to land.  Landing in 30-foot swells in the middle of the ocean would not be possible even with pontoons.

Answer 2

The pontoon would have to be so large to support the weight that they would be aerodynamically prohibitive.  They would cause so much "drag" in flight that the plane would have to burn much more fuel just to stay aloft.  I suppose a system of inflatable devices could be installed, but you have to understand that every pound of weight eats more fuel.  And with fuel costs today, it is not economical.

Answer 3

Everyone elses answers answer your question, but just because I came across this yesterday, I thought I would share that one of the most recent times a passenger plane ditched was in 2005.  

Here's some interesting reading if you're bored :)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ditching

Answer 4

Commercial airliners ditching into water are so extraordinarily rare that the money spent trying to make it work is not worth it, even if it is possible. I can't remember the last time that this happened. I'll bet that you can't, either.

Also, I doubt that passengers are willing to pay for it. This would further drive up airline costs and increase fares. Most travelers are price-driven and are not willing to pay for extra services. Just look at the number of questions on this website about how to find the "absolutely cheapest fare".

This is similar to all of the questions posted about providing parachutes for passengers. It sounds nice on paper, but it's not a pressing need and isn't practical in the real world.

Answer 5

NO!

Answer 6

The "Spruce Goose" - for a long time (and possibly still) the largest plane to fly (albeit briefly) was a flying boat.  It landed and took off from water.  Catalinas were also pretty big and they were flying boats.  So the answer is that planes can be designed to land on water, but, as everyone else has said, the cost/benefit equation makes it uneconomic.