Is there any contingency plan for an aircraft crash into the sea?

Question

I mean mainly when the aircraft is far away from the shore

Answer 1

The pilot prays that (s)he can glide the plane onto the water surface.

It would float for quite while in that event.

Then you hope there is a nearby shipping lane and a tanker ship spots and initiates a rescue.

Answer 2

I don't know the circumstances behind your question, but there are plans in place to land an aircraft in water.

Lets say you're on a long trans-pacific flight and a fuel leak develops and there is no way to make it to an airport, a water landing (called ditching) is the only option. Other things, such as an engine failure usually wouldn't require an extreme action like destroying a perfectly good airplane and risking the life's of the passengers.  The manufacturer, along with test pilots, determines how the aircraft will best  survive a water landing, or more importantly make a water landing survivable to the passengers.

Typically, the procedure involves stating your intentions to as many people as possible, I would want people waiting for me to ditch my plane if I were ever in that situation. The landing would be done gear up, with the slowest airspeed possible. Other factors include how much flaps would be used, would excess fuel be dumped, and other considerations that would be specific to each airplane.

As far as ditching a plane because of terrorist activities (I think this is what you may be asking) I don't believe so. Given the choice to crash a plane into the water or crash a plane into a building, there isn't a pilot out there that would think twice about that. Take the water, don't let any extra people die. As far as a plan to do that, I don't think thats something that is planed.

A comment on Gary's statement; ETOPS is Extended-range Twin-engine Operational Performance Standards,  there are four levels of ETOPS certification requiring a certain level of reliability of the engines. For example ETOPS-180 (which allows an approved aircraft and crew to fly 180 minutes in an area where there is no suitable airports for a diversion, it does not only apply to flight over water) certification requires a reliability record of less than 1 forced engine shutdown or failure in 50,000 flight hours. And the certification also requires an aircraft to demonstrate the ability to shut down the most critical engine and continue flying for the duration of the ETOPS certification sought.

To say flying is more dangerous than driving is just a crazy statement. Yes there are more people driving than flying. But look at the facts and compare the safety of miles flown vs. the safety of miles driven. Lets look at 2004, information is avaliable from the NTSB (http://www.ntsb.gov/aviation/Table5.htm) and the NTHSA (http://www-nrd.nhtsa.dot.gov/Pubs/810620...

1.57 fatalities per 100 million miles flown vs. 1.46 fatalities per 100 million miles driven. So flying is more dangerous, but that doesn't sound right, now does it? The stastics don't tell an important part of the story. How many people are severly injured in car crashes vs. how many people are seriously injured in aviation accidents? Most aircraft crashes happen one of two ways, everyone dies or everyone lives, usually with only minor injuries. Most auto accidents are survivable. You are 18 times more likely to survive a car crash than die (NHTSA), many of those people being severely injured. Thats just not the case with flying.

Say what you want, flying is safe.

Answer 3

The contingency plan is that everyone dies.

It's still safer than driving in a car.

Answer 4

you want the scary answer but very real answer?

There is a plan but its purpose is just to be there. Nothing else.

It doesn't really work.

Okay, let's start with getting the plane onto the water. It is not possible for a pilot, no matter how experienced to get a plane onto the water in one piece. (so it floats a little longer)

In fact, the way pilots are taught to ditch a plane in the water involves letting the tail first. Inevitably, this means sacrificing everyone in the tail part of the airplane. That part will break away and the rushing water will pin everyone in their seats until the entire thing is under water.

History tells the sad tale.

Past water ditching in the sea or another body of water resulted in less than 25% of passengers surviving It's just not possible to settle millions of pieces of machinery held with glue and fastners flying a high speed in a not dense space (air) and suddenly into a relatively dense medium which is water (which is not always smooth either)

Now, assuming a miracle happens. And the plane settles in such a manner that everyone can get out.

Second big problem. Life vests. The life vests aren't really life vests. They have lightened the construction that it could puncture with just a sharp fingernail. It isn't suitable for persons of all sizes. Too big or fat, or too small such as an infant, and you're screwed. By the way, its just so easy to accidentally inflate them before leaving the aircraft. I mean, logically, an uninflated life vest is worth nothing. It will not do its job. Another point is, what if you pull and it doesn't inflate. You're outside of the airplane, you're panicking and you need to stay afloaft among other survivors, in the waves, AND puff your life vest up? Time for another miracle!

Also, the rafts? they're just the escape slides that inflate. Their flotation properties are also debatable, especially in choppy waters. They're not going to stay afloat for long with like what? 40 people on them in rough seas. (oh and, when are the seas or oceans calm?)

Okay, assuming a second(or third) miracle happens again. And many people get out, have their life vests on, on the slides, and they have all the slides lashed together so they may stand the waves better. What then? The pilots should have given out mayday calls way before the ditching. If you're lucky, the pilots would have also given their approximate position just before ditching. So, at best, a military transport plane will be on scene like, at best, 2 hours and drop you maybe a few extra rafts, and a few supply packs. Then, you have to wait at least another two hours for a ship to come by. Out there on the water, it isn't very warm. You will be shivering, thirsty and hungry because there isn't much food to go around. You'll be tired of course. Plus maybe injuries you've sustained.

Oh, and think you're lucky because the water is warm? Sharks will be on scene really soon. Just one cut, from one survivor and you're all screwed.

Basically, the contingency plan is just there to be there. It won't actually do much. History proves this countless times. (because the first miracle doesn't happen)

It's also why planes need to go though extensive evaluations before being ETOPS certified. Because "they" know, that if the plane goes down, there isn't much of a chance for the people on board.

Bad incidents with flight over water resulting in ditching is the Air Florida one that crashed into the Potomac

the African hijacking of a 767 which ran out of gas and ditched near a beach. Not many people survived that one even though it happened very close to shore.'

A bad incident with a good ending I can think of right now is The Air Transat flight that ran out of gas due to a fuel leak in the middle of the Atlantic in the middle of winter and did a record glide to land on at a military base in the Azores.

  

Answer 5

Hi there...

By the way you asked, there are too many situations that could be involved in your question, but, there are common things for those too many situations, assuming that you are on that plane:

1) everyone must take shoes off.

2) everyone must have a lifevest on.

3) ensure that doors will no be locked when crash occurs.

4) NO ONE must inflate lifevest inside the airplane.

5) pilots must transmit/inform on the radio coordinates (lat & long) of possible impact place.

6) Land the aircraft on the water perpendicular to wave´s direction at lower speed as possible.

7) once outside the aircraft, people must inflate their vests.

8) everyone must keep together once floating, so it will be easyer for rescuers to see/find a bunch of people floating.

Hope I helped.

Private Pilot

Answer 6

Yes there is a contingency plan, but it will not work.  Unless there is a sea vessel close enough.

ExTended Overwater oPerationS (ETOPS) is called Engines Turn or People Swim by Pilots of twin engine jets (these should never have been certified for operations normally associated with 4 or 3 motor jets.  Thank the FAA who's mandate of "Promoting Air Travel and Air Safety" is constantly compromised to "Promoting Air Travel" by Airline Management Lobbists with millions of $$.

The only successful water landing by an airliner was in the 1940's by a propeller airliner who flew in circles to a sea vessel who was able to lay down "runway" lights in the water and wait for them to crashland.

The modern jets have under-wing engines, not in-wing like props.  When these engines hit the water, they will stop and either break off or nose-dive the aircraft underwater, probably the former.  The plane will float and a rescue operation could be successful, if the vessel was close enough.  But many will die on impact.

Remember and tell your children DO NOT INFLATE THE LIFE VEST UNTIL OUT OF THE AIRCRAFT OR YOU WILL DIE.  Air Florida crashed into the Washington Bridge then into the Potomac River and only 1 flight attendant survived.  In the wreckage, they found lots of people dead because they inflated their vests inside the plane, could not escape, and impeded others from escaping.

Oh, and flying is not safer than driving a car.  The Airline Management and their FAA pawn would like to you to think it is.  But, if you think about how many trillions of automobile departures there are and how many die, then think of how few aircraft departures there are and how many die.  

You are way more likely to die getting on an airplane than getting in a car.

Answer 7

Do you mean for the crew of the aircraft or for the rescuers?

For the aircraft crew the pilots are trained to know how to put the aircraft into the water in such a way as to minimize the impact (it will still be fairly rough, however). Flight attendants will open the cabin doors, deploy the life rafts, and assist the passengers to vacate the aircraft.

Any nearby ships will be notified as soon as the pilots inform ATC of an inability to stay in flight, or if the aircraft misses a scheduled radio call. It is generally considered courteous for the captain of a ship to respond to any distress call, be it from another ship or an aircraft. I do not know if it is actually required by naval law that they respond.

In these days if an aircraft has to ditch at sea, the passengers and crew would not have very long to wait for rescue to arrive. The only unknown is how rapidly the aircraft will sink. It could be hours or minutes. So if, god forbid, you ever find yourself in that situation, do not waste any time trying to retrieve something from your carry on baggage. Just get onto a life raft in an orderly fashion and everything will be fine.