Why do airlines have extensive procedures for an ocean crash landing if no one would ever survive it anyway?

Question

They have this extensive plan with flotation devices and inflatable slides and a long briefing that everyone has to listen to (even if you arent flying over the ocean). Why isnt there a plan for a mountain crash? As far as I know, no plane has ever landed in the ocean and survived to execute these silly procedures

Answer 1

Just as Neil said, you may be flying over a big body of water such as the Great Lakes or a river.  And even though a plane lands in water, it doesn't mean you will die.  People have survived a crash into water.  In the 1980s Air Florida crashed on take-off out of Washington D.C. into the Potomac River.  A lot of people died but there were survivors.

As for mountains, aircraft are equipped with TCAS which alerts the pilots if they are flying too low.  Unless there is a catastrophic failure, airplanes usually do not just crash into a mountain.  The pilot will try to guide the aircraft to an airport or crash land in a field.

Answer 2

Yes, you may survive an ocean crash landing and people have survived them in the past. And if you do you want to have a life vest and a raft. Just search Ethiopian Airlines 961 for example.

Answer 3

People have survived ditching at sea.

Many flights which are not trans-oceanic still pass over large bodies of water.