Well, no it isn't, actually; US Airways 1549 is. That one took place on smooth water, not the high seas, but there have been numerous other ditchings in moderately higher sea states that were non-catastrophic. It's a crapshoot.

Underwing engines are held in place by shear pins that will break in a ditching and let them be carried away, so if everything goes just right, the wings won't be ripped off and the airplane will have a chance of floating for a while. Flaps, OTOH, would be down for minimum speed and would very likely come off.

Another edifying link: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/...

Matter of fact, no human pilot does, consistently, at sea. Even the largest seaplanes depend on protected water (harbors, lagoons, rivers etc.) for normal operations, and an open-sea landing is an emergency procedure.

When the USS Indianapolis survivors were found, 70 years ago this week, a PBY landed near them with no hope of taking off; it simply served as an improved lifeboat until surface vessels arrived, and was then sunk.

...there's gonna be a market for places to take a piss.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?...

At least it appears to be firmly attached to his head.

Is that one which actually has a pilot in it?

If you're having a problem holding yourself in the seat, you might try fastening your seat belt properly. You are SAFER in an aft-facing seat, and the military, which cares more about not killing its people than coddling them, mounts passenger seats facing aft for exactly that reason.

Yes. In the high-subsonic regime of passenger jets, you run out of space well before you run out of weight-carrying ability.

The kid could have had one of these.

Barbecuing is optional. What counts is drinking beer and playing with explosives.

1990? I was living off base in the Air Force in 1964, and before that I lived in base housing that was completely open on public streets.

Indeed. You can measure the performance degradation in a sailplane caused by bug impacts on the leading edges.

When it changes color, aren't you getting the information a bit late?

One of them once told me "It may be shit to you, but it's bread and butter to me."

Naturally. It's much too dangerous to jump through a fire with your clothes on.

--The Wicker Man