Water landing

An aircraft landing intentionally on a body of water

In aviation, a water landing is, in the broadest sense, an aircraft landing on a body of water. Seaplanes, such as floatplanes and flying boats, land on water as a normal operation. Ditching is a controlled emergency landing on the water surface in an aircraft not designed for the purpose, a very rare occurrence. Controlled flight into the surface and uncontrolled flight ending in a body of water (including a runway excursion into water) are generally not considered water landings or ditching.

Seaplanes, flying boats, and amphibious aircraft are designed to take off and alight on water. Alighting can be supported by a hull shaped fuselage and/or pontoons. The availability of a long effective runway was historically important on lifting size restrictions on aircraft, and their freedom from constructed strips remains useful for transportation to lakes and other remote areas. The ability to loiter on water is also important for marine rescue operations and fire fighting. One disadvantage of water alighting is that it is dangerous in the presence of waves. Furthermore, the necessary equipment compromises the craft's aerodynamic efficiency and speed. Early crewed spacecraft launched by the United States were designed to alight on water by the splashdown method. The craft would parachute into the water, which acted as a cushion to bring the craft to a stop; the impacts were violent but survivable. Alighting over water rather than land made braking rockets unnecessary, but its disadvantages included difficult retrieval and the danger of drowning. The NASA Space Shuttle design was intended to land on a runway instead. Since 2020 the SpaceX Dragon has used water landings. The Boeing CST 100 is designed to do likewise.

While ditching is extremely uncommon in commercial passenger travel, small aircraft tend to ditch slightly more often because they usually have only one engine and their systems have fewer redundancies. According to the National Transportation Safety Board, there are about a dozen ditchings per year.

General aviation includes all fields of aviation outside of military or scheduled (commercial) flights. This classification includes small aircraft, e. g., training aircraft, airships, gliders, helicopters, and corporate aircraft, including business jets and other for hire operations. General aviation has the highest accident and incident rate in aviation, with 16 deaths per million flight hours, compared to 0.74 deaths per million flight hours for commercial flights (North America and Europe).

The FAA does not require commercial pilots to train to ditch but airline cabin personnel must train on the evacuation process. In addition, the FAA implemented rules under which circumstances (kind of operator, number of passengers, weight, route) an aircraft has to carry emergency equipment including floating devices such as life jackets and life rafts. Some aircraft are designed with the possibility of a water landing in mind. Airbus aircraft, for example, feature a "ditching button" which, if pressed, closes valves and openings underneath the aircraft, including the outflow valve, the air inlet for the emergency RAT, the avionics inlet, the extract valve, and the flow control valve. It is meant to slow flooding in a water landing.

DateAircraftOccupantsFatalitiesDetails13 January 1923Aeromarine 759413 January 1923: An Aeromarine Airways Aeromarine 75 had to ditch into the Atlantic Ocean when the flying boat suffered engine issues. 5 of the 9 people on board survived.21 October 1926Handley Page W.1012021 October 1926: An Imperial Airways Handley Page W.10 (G EBMS) ditched into the English Channel after suffering an engine failure. All 12 people on board survived.17 June 1929Handley Page W.1013717 June 1929: An Imperial Airways Handley Page W.10 (G EBMT) ditched into the English Channel after suffering an engine failure. 6 of the 13 people on board the plane survived.21 January 1939Short S.23 Empire133 21 January 1939: An Imperial Airways Short S.23 Empire (G ADUU) ditched into the Atlantic Ocean after suffering a loss of power to its engines. 10 of the 13 people on board survived.10 February 1945 Douglas C 4712010 February 1945: A lost U. S. Air Force Douglas C 47 was attempting to make an emergency landing at a nearby airfield since it was running on low fuel. Unbeknownst to the crew, they were heading towards a Japanese airfield. A P 51, piloted by Louis Edward Curdes, conducting an air attack over the Japanese airfield spotted the C 47. He was unable to contact the crew of the C 47 as the radio on the C 47 stopped working, so he shot down both engines of the C 47 to prevent the occupants of the C 47 to be captured by the Japanese upon landing at the airfield. The C 47 was then forced to ditch into the sea. All 12 people on board survived and were eventually rescued.11 April 1952Douglas DC 4695216 April 1952de Havilland Australia DHA 3 Drover303 August 1953Lockheed L 749A Constellation42419 June 1954Convair CV 240 HB IRW9323 July 1954Douglas C 54A 10 DC Skymaster181023 July 1954: Cathay Pacific VR HEU ditched into the South China Sea after being shot by two Lavochkin La 11 fighters of the 85th Fighter Regiment, People's Liberation Army Air Force (PLAAF). While ten passengers and crew were killed by bullets and the subsequent ditching, eight others survived and escaped from the sinking plane, including both pilots. 26 March 1955Boeing 377 Stratocruiser2342 April 1956Boeing 37738516 October 1956Boeing 37731014 July 1960DC 7C57114 July 1960: Northwest Airlines Flight 1 11 (A DC 7C) with 7 crew and 51 passengers made a successful ditching in shark infested waters at 4:05am, 11 miles from Magdalo barrio, Polillo Island about 80 miles from Manila, Philippines. Capt. David Hall was forced to make an emergency water landing after a fire broke out in the no.2 engine when it did not feather followed by its propeller spinning off. In darkness and rough seas, the crew were able to evacuate all passengers and eventually get them aboard the life rafts as the aircraft sank nose first into the Pacific Ocean. There was only 1 loss of life caused by a heart attack. The 57 passengers and crew were rescued five hours later by Coast Guard Grumman amphibian and a US Navy PBM from Sangley Point Naval Base in Cavite, Philippines.22 October 1962DC 7C58021 August 1963Tupolev Tu 12452023 April 1966Ilyushin Il 14333323 April 1966: Aeroflot Flight 2723 (an Ilyushin Il 14 registered as CCCP 61772) suffered a dual engine failure several minutes after taking off from Bina International Airport. The pilots were unable to return back to Bina and ended up ditching into the Caspian Sea. The wreckage and occupants were not found until a few months later. All 33 people on board died.2 May 1970McDonnell Douglas DC 9 33CF632317 July 1972Tupolev Tu 1345017 July 1972: A GosNIIAS Tupolev Tu 134 (CCCP 65607) was conducting a test flight when both of its engines shut down and the crew were unable to restart the engines. The plane was low on altitude and had to ditch on the Ikshinskoye reservoir. All 5 people on board survived with no injuries.11 September 1990Boeing 7271616 (presumed)11 September 1990: A Faucett Perú Boeing 727 (OB 1303) was running out of fuel and the pilots sent a out a distress message that was picked up by TWA Flight 851 and American Airlines Flight 35, stating that they were preparing to ditch into the Atlantic Ocean. Nothing else was ever heard from the pilots again and the wreckage and occupants were never found. Officials from the Transportation Safety Board of Canada (TSB) believed the plane had in fact ditched into the Atlantic Ocean.24 April 1994Douglas DC 325024 April 1994: A DC 3 (VH EDC), operated by South Pacific Airmotive, suffered a failure of the left engine at approximately 200 feet (61 m) after taking off from Sydney Airport (Australia) The power of the right engine was insufficient to climb or maintain height, so the pilot carried out a successful ditching. All 25 on board survived with only one minor physical injury.23 November 1996Boeing 767 260ER17512529 July 1998Embraer EMB 110P1 Bandeirante271229 July 1998: A Selva Taxi Aéreo Embraer EMB 110P1 Bandeirante (PT LGN) had an oil pressure issue on the number 2 engine twenty minutes after taking off from Manaus Eduardo Gomes International Airport and had to be shut down later on. Due to this, the crew decided to turn back to Manaus. The plane could not maintain flight with only one engine since the plane was severely overweight and thus unable to reach Manaus, so the plane had to ditch on the Manacapuru River. 12 out of the 27 people on board the plane were killed.13 January 2000Short 360412213 January 2000: An Avisto Short 360 (HB AAM) suffered a dual engine failure after the melting of ice accumulated in both engines. The plane ditched into the Mediterranean Sea, 5km off Marsa Brega Airport. Out of the 41 people on board, 19 had survived, 21 were killed and 1 was missing and is presumed dead.31 May 2000Piper PA 318827 February 2001Shorts 360 1002227 February 2001: Loganair Flight 670A, a Shorts 360 100, took off from Edinburgh Airport, United Kingdom. Shortly thereafter, the plane suffered a dual engine failure from an accumulation of large volumes of snow or slush in both engines and ditched in the Firth of Forth. Both pilots, who were the only people on board, were killed.16 January 2002Boeing 73760111 November 2002Fokker F27 Friendship34196 August 2005ATR 72391615 January 2009Airbus A320155022 October 2009Britten Norman Islander10118 November 2009Westwind II6018 November 2009: A Pel Air West conducting an air ambulance flight using a Westwind II (VH NGA) ditched into the sea 3km south west of Norfolk Island due to the flight crew being unable to land at Norfolk Island in poor weather conditions and not having enough fuel to divert to another airport. All 6 people on board survived.6 June 2011Antonov An 263011 July 2011Antonov An 2437711 December 2013 Cessna 208B Grand Caravan9111 December 2013: A Makani Kai Air Cessna 208B Grand Caravan (N687MA) ditched shortly after takeoff from Kalaupapa Airport, Hawaii due to engine failure. The plane sustained substantial damage from the impact. Of the 9 people on board, one passenger was fatally injured, the pilot and two passengers were seriously injured, and five passengers received minor injuries.21 June 2019Basler BT 672021 June 2019: A North Star Air Basler BT 67 (C FKGL) lost power to both engines after the pilot in the left seat, who was not flying the plane, accidentally moved the fuel condition levers while retracting the landing gear. The plane, flying in pitch black conditions, had to ditch into Eabamet Lake, Ontario. Both pilots evacuated the plane without injuries.2 July 2021Boeing 737202 July 2021: On Transair Flight 810, one engine on the Boeing 737 200 cargo aircraft failed en route from Honolulu to the neighboring Hawaiian island of Maui. The crew attempted to turn back to Honolulu's Daniel K. Inouye International Airport, but the plane's second engine overheated, forcing the two pilots on board to ditch the airplane about off the southern coast of Oahu. Both pilots were rescued by the United States Coast Guard.

Aircraft also sometimes end up in water by running off the ends of runways, landing in water short of the end of a runway, or even being forcibly flown into the water during suicidal/homicidal events. Twice at LaGuardia Airport, an aircraft has rolled into the East River (USAir Flight 5050 and USAir Flight 405). 5 September 1954: KLM Flight 633, a Lockheed L 1049C 55 81 Super Constellation, suffered a re extension of the landing gear shortly after taking off from Shannon Airport, which the flight crew was not aware. This caused the plane to descend and ditch into the River Shannon. 28 of the 56 people on board survived. 13 January 1969: Scandinavian Airlines System Flight 933, a McDonnell Douglas DC 8 62, ditched in Santa Monica Bay while on approach to runway 07R of Los Angeles International Airport, California. Out of the 45 people on board the plane, 4 drowned, 11 are missing and presumed dead, 17 were injured, and 13 sustained no injuries. 28 February 1984: Scandinavian Airlines System Flight 901, a McDonnell Douglas DC 10 30, overran the runway shortly after landing at John F. Kennedy International Airport and ended up with its nose in shallow water. All 177 occupants on board survived with 12 of them sustaining injuries. 31 August 1988: CAAC Flight 301, a Hawker Siddeley Trident, overran the runway at Kai Tak international Airport and ended up in Kowloon Bay, breaking into two pieces. 7 of the 89 occupants on board perished and 15 others sustained injuries. 26 September 1988: Aerolineas Argentinas Flight 648, a Boeing 737, landed hard and overran the runway at Ushuaia Airport and ended up in shallow water. All 62 people aboard survived. 3 May 2019: Miami Air International Flight 293, a Boeing 737 800, hydroplaned and experienced a runway excursion upon landing at Naval Air Station Jacksonville. The airplane came to rest in the shallow waters of St. Johns River, sustaining substantial damage. All 143 passengers and crew on board the plane survived, although twenty one people on board suffered minor injuries.

A limited number of pre World War II military aircraft, such as the Grumman F4F Wildcat and Douglas TBD Devastator, were equipped with flotation bags that kept them on the surface in the event of a ditching. The "water bird" emergency landing is a technique developed by the Canadian Forces to safely land the Sikorsky CH 124 Sea King helicopter if one engine fails while flying over water. The emergency landing technique allows the boat hull equipped aircraft to land on the water in a controlled fashion.

Beginning in 2013 and continuing into 2014 and 2015, a series of ocean water landing tests were undertaken by SpaceX as a prelude to bringing booster rockets back to the launch pad in an effort to reuse launch vehicle booster stages. Seven test flights with controlled descents have been conducted by April 2015. Each vertical takeoff spaceflight system to date has relied on expendable boosters to begin each ascent to orbital velocity. This is beginning to change. Recent advances in private space transport, where new competition to governmental space initiatives has emerged, have included the explicit design of recoverable rocket technologies into orbital booster rockets. SpaceX has initiated and funded a multimillion dollar program to pursue this objective, known as the reusable launch system development program. The orbital flight version of the SpaceX design was first successful at accomplishing a water landing (zero velocity and zero altitude) in April 2014 on a Falcon 9 rocket and was the first successful controlled ocean soft touchdown of a liquid rocket engine orbital booster. Seven test flights with controlled descent test over water landings, including two with failed attempts to land on a floating landing platform, have been conducted by April 2015.