Career Pilot: Why water?

Recently another pilot, flying a twin Cessna Skymaster, had a gear problem. But instead of dead-sticking the airplane onto a long runway with emergency personnel standing by for immediate assistance, he elected to ditch the airplane in a lagoon adjacent to Honolulu International Airport.

While the internet lit up with comparisons to the “Miracle on the Hudson” and plenty of “textbook” accolades as in the 310 incident in 2010, I was incredulous. How is ditching a perfectly flyable airplane safer than landing gear up on a runway or any part of an airport with rescue personnel at the ready? And what “textbook” do these armchair experts think pilots use?

First, credit has to be given to the fact that the pilot, the only occupant, was unharmed. That’s the main goal here and it was met. That was the result for the 310’s occupants as well. While the 310’s pilot, who blipped the starters of both engines to align the props horizontal in an attempt to minimize damage, went too far in an attempt to save a few bucks after the incident, the Skymaster pilot took the opposite tack.

In the case of the Honolulu ditching, the Skymaster was likely totaled because of the damage incurred by salt water flowing in every possible part of the airplane. But that’s up to the insurance company to decide. I’m sure it’ll have words with the pilot about his decision as well.

According to the reports, the pilot spent several hours burning off fuel and making a decision. In the end, he could have saved the gas and landed immediately, as the high-wing Cessna design has an extremely low risk of catching fire in the event of a belly landing. Ditching in a Cessna, however, is very risky because of the high-wing design. It’ll ski along on its fuselage for a few seconds, but the Cessna will quickly sink right up to its wings—flooding the cabin far quicker than would occur with a low-wing airplane.

The pilot likely knew this and hopefully took precautions to avoid getting trapped. One technique is unlocking the door prior to touchdown, so it doesn’t get jammed in position by possible airframe twisting on impact. I also hope he made sure to clear loose objects and potential snags such as headset cords out of the way for his immediate egress.

But any way you slice it, ditching a high-wing airplane is risky and is a complete unknown to pilots who haven’t done it before. There is the risk of catching a wing tip and spinning the airplane. Likewise, there’s a good chance that the airplane can flip over if it digs nose-first into a sizable swell. Finally, there is the added threat of drowning.

Perhaps the pilot was worried about the fire potential of landing gear-up on a runway? However, statistics and evidence from thousands of belly landings have proven there is very little risk of fire during belly landings of general aviation airplanes. Perhaps Hollywood’s sensationalized crash sequences have seared horrific images of fires and flinging prop blades into people's brains? The truth is, gear-up landings are very anticlimactic and lead to required engine teardowns, curled-up props, and scraped belly skins.

Perhaps this pilot worried about closing a main runway at Honolulu’s International Airport? If so, it’s admirably empathetic to consider the thousands of airline passengers who would be delayed or canceled because of the closure of a main runway in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. But in an emergency, the pilot in command is expected to choose the best option to minimize loss of life and avoid endangering others.

In this case, the gear-up landing on a runway would be best. If worried about closing that runway, it could be done on the grass next to the runway or on a remote location on the airport. Either way, rescue personnel could arrive in seconds.

Read more about the pilot’s ditching near Honolulu International Airport.