One if by land, two if by water? The decision to fly a single over water is complicated and involves your survival training and equipment

As pilots striving to promote safety, we all have daily rules to live by. Beyond the purity of the classroom, in the real world these rules are not written in stone, but instead morph with changing circumstances, depending on our currency, recent experience, equipment being flown and weather variables, among other factors. While safety-related procedures are often considered fixed, as in the appropriately rigid adherence to a checklist, such blind fidelity to a single course of action is not always helpful.

The multiple variables one must consider when contemplating a flight over water offer a perfect example of how our approach to safety can be reasonably malleable in the face of changing circumstances. Formost of my flying career, I would always choose a land route if one is available when flying a single-engine airplane, even if inconvenient compared to an over-water choice. Recent circumstances, however, have caused me to modify my cherished affinity for land at all costs and highlighted for me the dynamic nature of our approach to safety. To bring it to life, let's explore real-world pros and cons of flying over water and over land to the same destination.

COMPARATIVE SURVIVABILITY

Once or twice a month I fly a single-engine turboprop between Austin, Texas, and Roatan, Honduras. Until recently and consistent with my preference for land, I always flew via Mexico, with a stop in Veracruz for fuel on the way down. The return trip was also through Mexico, but considerably messier--so messy that a growing desire to avoid Mexico was the first element in my change of heart about overwater flying. As such, some details are important in understanding the shift in thinking. They're found in the sidebar on page 10.

[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

This routine worked well, even if the affair was slow and inconvenient. But as Mexico descends ever further toward a complete Narcostate, avoiding that country and all the hassles there has become increasingly attractive. I could avoid Mexico entirely if only I was willingto fly over water. I could fly between Roatan and Brownsville straight across the Gulf. No Mexico.

No Mexico, sure, but is that sufficient to justify flying over a vast expanse of water? A few other factors entered into the picture. One consideration was the terrain over which we flew when taking the land route; about one-quarter of the trip entailed flying over the dense, uninhabited, inhospitable jungle of the Yucatan peninsula. Landing there would be unpleasant. This reality diminishes the safety appeal of the overland route compared to the prospects of ditching. The second is the possibility of surviving a ditching in the relatively warm calm waters of the Gulf (compared to the frigid and rough Atlantic faced when flying to Europe, for example).

In the final analysis, the decision to go over water really comes down to balancing the problems and hassles, and potential dangers, incurred using a laud route and the qiestion of differential survival: When the engine quits, which is better, flying into difficult terrainor into the drink? Is a ditching even realistically survivable?

On the plus side, last year two turboprop singles ditched into theGulf and in both cases all on board survived with oni minor injuries. Of course, negating that plus is the fact that last year two turboprop singles ditched 1.11 the Gulf. That alone is proof that flying behind a turbine engine offers no guarantees. And the fact of two survivable ditchings does not mean a third would be.

TO DITCH OR NOT TO DITCH?

To get a sense if ditching was a reasonable option, I needed training. Outside of the military, opportunities for realistic ditching training in the U.S. are surprisingly limited. The Marine Survival Training Center at the University of Louisiana in Lafayette is one option. The facility's proximity to the Gulf of Mexico is a natural fit fortraining off-shore oil workers. Another possibility is Survival Systems USA, inc., in Groton, Corin. With no prior knowledge, the choice was really a flip of the coin, and Groton won the toss. Mv wife's schedule limited us to one day of pool training; Survival Systems also offers a two-day course in which students are taken out to the open ocean to repeat the previous day's pool training in a more realistic environment, but we didn't have time to schedule it. See the sidebar onthe previous page for some highlights of this training, which at least was enlightening.

BAD EXAMPLE

But do not let my experience scare you from taking that or any other training course if you intend to fly over water regularly. I went on to enjoy the remainder of the training with no further incidents. Not one other person in my class had the slightest problem from the very first dunk. My wife aced every dunk without a hint of concern. Ofcourse, nobody else was dumb enough to wear a survival suit on the first try.

If I had taken just one dunk without the suit, I would have been fine. With the experience of one or two dunks behind me, I would have had the presence of mind to compensate for the buoyancy, but the novelty of the experience, combined with the handicap of the suit was just too much for a first try. At least for me.

All the remaining dunks were uneventful, and with each we all gained a bit more confidence in the procedures we were taught. By my seventh and last dunk, I felt like an old pro. But I am truly grateful for that frightening first experience: the confusion and fear taught mejust how difficult a real ditching would be, and how much we must prepare and train if we are to have any chance of surviving. I am as confident as anybody can be in the water, yet within a blink of an eye I was in trouble. The only solution is training, regardless of background or previous experience.

SURFACE SURVIVAL

So now you made it safely out of the airplane, onto the water's surface. You are by no means home free. If properly equipped, you will be wearing a life vest and will have a life raft to use. If flying over cold water, you will be wearing an immersion suit. We were taught how to stay together in the water. We practiced inflating our vests and deploying and getting into the life raft. We were taught some neattricks for securing the raft to the plane in a way that prevents theraft from floating away while you are egressing, but without jeopardizing the raft should the airplane sink. Finally, with the hopeful idea of being rescued, we practiced getting into and being lifted out of the water by the type of safety basket or harness that would be lowered by a helicopter.

UNPLANNED VACATION?

If you ditch in the middle of the Atlantic, even with a personal ELT with built-in GPS, you may find that your life raft is a home-away-from-home for an extended period. You will be fighting high seas, seasickness, hypothermia (then potentially the opposite concern, sun exposure), injury, hunger, thirst, fatigue and potentially dangerous sea life, only too happy to make you lunch, just to name a few of the most obvious hazards.

If rescue personnel happen to approach, you need to be spotted, not an easy task as a small orange dot in a vast sea of endless blue and white. The challenges are many, but the science of survival is fairly well-established, providing good tips on how to mitigate each of these various threats. All pertain too to the more benign Gulf, even if to a lesser degree. The sidebar at right details just some of the challenges you'll face if you're raft-bound for any length of time.

And that length of time can be significant. Even if you're simply cutting a corner over the Gulf of Mexico, flying over the Great Lakeson the way to Oshkosh or popping across to Catalina Island for lunch, you could be in the water for an uncomfortably long time if you have to ditch.

How long? Maurice and Marilyn Bailey survived adrift in a tiny dinghy for 117 days after their yacht capsized off the coast of Guatemala in 1973. I believe their ordeal still holds the endurance record. Meanwhile, Bill and Simonne Butler survived 66 days adrift in a leaky raft after pilot whales attacked their boat in the middle of the Pacific. Such long-term tales of survival could only be told if food could be obtained from the sea and fresh water collected from rain or a de-salinization pump. These castaways had in common a strong will to survive, an important ingredient in any success story.

GETTING RESCUED

In order to be found, rescuers need to know your approximate location so that the search can be reasonably narrowed. Once rescuers are on site, you need to stand out from the background. You can help on both counts.

By far the best means of helping others find you is to carry a personal locator beacon or equivalent device. Such a device transmits its GPS-derived latitude/longitude coordinates to an accuracy of no more than 110 yards using the 406 MHz COSPAS-SARSAT satellite system. You register the unit with. authorities, so the rescuers know not only where you are, but who you are as well.

But even with that level of accuracy, rescuers still need to see you. Of course, your life raft is bright orange, which helps, but can easily be missed against foaming whitecaps and the vast expanse of anendless ocean. Carry a signaling mirror. Good life rafts come with flares. Only fire the flare if you are confident the rescue aircraft will be able to see you. An airliner passing over at 37,000 feet will do you no Good Be careful too not to waste the flare on a passing ship unless you are nearly certain you will be seen; most large ships not specifically looking for you will probably miss your attempts to get noticed. From the bridge of a large vessel you are nothing but a tiny dot; modern ships usually have a small crew, and a flare could easily get missed.

[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

Sometimes a rescue helicopter will lower a basket, and you are expected to get in, on your own, and hold on. Other times a safety swimmer will jump in to assist you. If so, do exactly what that person says, without question, with no hesitation and without resistance.

BOTTOM LINE

So, should I avoid Mexico and fly over water? Can we expect to survive a ditching? Clearly, landing in water is no picnic, and is potentially life-threatening in the best of circumstances. I am thoroughlyconvinced that the only hope for survival, even if not great, is to call upon experience derived from realistic training.

For example, the challenge of finding an exit after being flipped upside down in the water cannot be simulated on a computer or in a classroom; you need to experience the event by getting wet. If you fly over water, a ditching course is essential. But understand one is no guarantee of a good outcome; neither is flying over the jungle, or landing in a country in the grips of a drug war.

The perils of overwater flight are real, but as with all aspects of aviation, the potential for harm can be diminished with proper preparation and a realistic approach to risk management. Assess the risks, reduce or eliminate those that can be and mitigate what remains. Flying over water when a land route is available can be justified, but there is no perfect answer. And therein lies the dynamic nature of safety.

One if by land, two if by water? The decision to fly a single over water is complicated and involves your survival training and equipment

Latest in Home

Beyond the Runway: How Airports Can Leverage Data to Drive Revenue and Elevate the Passenger Experience

EULEN Aviation and Arajet Team Up to Enhance U.S. Operations at MIA

CGI VirtualFlightRecorder to Enhance Aviation Safety with Next-Generation Flight Data Solution

LOTAMS Named Europe’s First Embraer E2 Authorized Service Center

AkzoNobel Partners With IPG Photonics for Laser Curing for Powder Coatings