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Has a passenger plane landed on water?

15 January 2009: US Airways Flight 1549 (an Airbus A320) successfully ditched into the Hudson River between New York City and New Jersey, after reports of multiple bird strikes.



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Has a passenger plane landed in the ocean? 8 May 1978: National Airlines Flight 193, a Boeing 727 Trijet, unintentionally landed in the waters of Escambia Bay near Pensacola, Florida after coming down short of the runway during a foggy approach.

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The surface tension of water makes hitting it the equivalent of hitting concrete. Planes, unless gently and perfectly pancaked into the water, tend to cartwheel and tear themselves apart. Once stopped you need to get out of a sinking plane.

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When flying over land, of course it is more likely that there will be more airfields closer to the aircraft at any given time. However, because of lessons learned from its history and the improvements in aircraft and engine reliability, crossing the oceans is deemed as safe as flying over land.

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19 June 1954: Swissair Convair CV-240 (HB-IRW) ditched into the English Channel because of fuel starvation, which was attributed to pilot error. All three crew and five passengers survived the ditching and could escape the plane.

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The FAA does not require commercial pilots to train to ditch but airline cabin personnel must train on the evacuation process.

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Very good, IF you are prepared. A ditching is an intentional water touchdown under control, not an uncontrolled crash. Of the 179 ditchings reviewed, only 22, or 12 percent, resulted in fatalities. The overall general aviation ditching survival rate is 88 percent.

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Almost all large aircraft impacting the sea surface in an emergency or uncontrolled will break up immediately and catastrophically. One notable exception was US1549, an A320, which was landed on water without breaking up. It was described as still virtually intact though partially submerged and slowly sinking.

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On January 15th, 2009, US Airways Flight 1549 crash-landed on the Hudson River after hitting a flock of birds during takeoff. The skilled response of Captain Chesley Sullenberger and First Officer Jeffrey Skiles resulted in all 150 passengers and five crew members surviving the crash.

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Capt. Sully returned briefly to flying for US Airways several months after his famous flight, and retired from the airline business later in 2009, landing a lucrative book deal and speaking engagements.

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TWA flight 800, flight of a Trans World Airlines (TWA) jumbo jet airliner that broke up over the Atlantic Ocean and went down about 8 miles (13 km) off the coast of Long Island, near East Moriches, New York, on the evening of July 17, 1996.

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Landing Fees They're common at larger airports, but less so at smaller ones. These fees are usually calculated based on the weight of your aircraft, so the bigger your bird, the more you'll pay.

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Airline pilots take turns using the bathroom nearest the cockpit during a flight. There are no bathrooms installed in the cockpit. For airplanes with a single pilot, diapers, catheters, or collection devices are used if they are unable to land to use the airport bathroom.

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Can pilots see toilets? Yes, it's that serious. ' Captain Morris's toilet-based revelations don't end there. He also reveals that on the Dreamliner and the Boeing 777, the flight crew via cabin cameras can see the forward washroom – and over the years he's witnessed a few memorable sights.

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Among 99 known cases of wheel-well stowaways from 1947 through June 6, 2013, there were 76 fatalities and 23 survivors. It is possible there are additional undocumented cases of successful surviving wheel-well stowaways escaping the aircraft undetected possibly with outside assistance.

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The longest over water route in the world is the stretch between the U.S. mainland and Hawaii. Even between Hawaii and Tokyo there are alternate airports available, such as Midway Island (hence the name “Midway”). Going across the North Atlantic, alternates include Iceland and Greenland.

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While it all comes down to your preferences, daytime flying has the upper hand when it comes to visibility. Because of the sunlight, any possible obstructions, such as rocks or mountains, are far easier to spot, making the likelihood of accidents much less and daytime flying the safer option by far.

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