Is a "Sully"-style water landing possible over the Atlantic or Pacific?
Last night on “Lost,” Locke asserted “in calm seas, with a good pilot, the fuel tanks are buoyant enough to keep us afloat until we can get in the life rafts” with regard to the chances of a successful water landing. Is this accurate information?
It would seem that the ability to “glide” a plane down from 30,000 feet would be physically impossible.
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According to the wiki successful water landings are possible (if unlikely) with some people surviving.
Very possible to glide down from 30K. Smooth landing on rough water is a little more tricky. If both engines quit you will glide down, thats physics.
@missingbite I was thinking of a jumbo jet “gliding” down at a trajectory that would make a reasonably soft landing impossible. Losing both engines, would a plane eventually not just drop like a stone?
I think you are asking two things. Can the plane be landed successfully, and will it float. We already know you can land a plane on water, but I would think rough sees would make it more difficult, possibly there is rougher air in the middle of the ocean also, I don’t know, just throwing the idea out there. It was very important to maintain the wings level, so they did not get ripped from the plane on landing. A far as sinking. If intact, planes do float for a while, they don’t just drop like a rock to the bottom of the ocean.
@HankMoody Even jumbo jets have a glide ratio. I fly the Airbus A320. About 160,000#‘s and it glides like a bird.
Well, I know it wasn’t from 30,000 feet, but there was that plane that landed on the Hudson River with no deaths or serious injuries. Obviously. It takes a very skilled pilot and ideal conditions, but, yes, it should be possible.
-Dan
Airplanes are landed by slowing them down, so they’ll glide a bit. It all depends on how much speed they were able to maintain.
The big problem at 30,000 feet is making sure all of the pressurization and air systems are working so everyone doesn’t freeze to death. If you look at airline crashes you will see that almost never do planes crash when having already reached a cruising altitude of 30,000 feet or more. The plane has plenty of time for correction, and there are not flocks of birds at that altitude, it is way below freezing probably around minus 30 maybe colder, I’m not really sure. Do you want to know because you have a fear of flying? Or, just want to know out of curiosity?
@missingbite Thanks, that is what I wanted to know.
@JLeslie Mostly just curious. On the episode last night, one character tells another (who is reading the flight safety card) that he’s wasting his time because in case of a water landing you’re SOL anyway. I guess based on the Sully incident, it’s proven that it can happen, but the Hudson isn’t the open ocean.
@HankMoody Yeah, when that landing was reported my husband and I said, “good it wasn’t the mississippi,” which is the river closest to us. The current is crazy strong, so I would guess it would be very difficult, and I would also assume that once you land you would continue to get knocked around.
Ha… I’m an idiot. I understood what you meant by “Sully Style” by the context. I didn’t know that was the Hudson crash pilot, though. Makes my comment painfully stupid on reflection :-) Yay!
From the inimitable George Carlin :
The safety lecture continues. “In the unlikely event of a water landing . . .” Well, what exactly is a water landing? Am I mistaken, or does this sound somewhat similar to CRASHING INTO THE OCEAN !? ”. . . your seat cushion can be used as a floatation device.” Well, imagine that, my seat cushion… Just what I need—to float around the North Atlantic for several days—clinging to a pillow full of beer farts…
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