Italian mid-air and ditching.

[stratobee]

Some sort of RV aircrafts had a mid-air and one of them ditched in shallow waters by the beach. In this first angle you can see that his left wing has structural damage. He does a textbook ditching by dipping his tail in first, but because of the gear the plane flips over very rapidly.

http://www.youreporter.it/video_Alba_l_impatto_in_mare_di_uno_dei_2_velivoli_coinvolti?refresh_ce-cp

Here's another angle from the beach:

http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=19d_1433109560

And here's the actual mid-air crash:

http://www.quotidianolacitta.it/alba-adriatica-incidente-aereo-durante-lo-spettacolo-delle-frecce-tricolori/

I heard the ditching pilot is recovering and will survive. Unfortunately his friend in the other aircraft crashed and that pilot did not survive. RIP.

Fly safe out there!

 

[tehmightypirate]

Wow, is there no way to put a fixed gear plane into rough water without it flipping?

 

[Matthew]

Wow, is there no way to put a fixed gear plane into rough water without it flipping?

This guy tried, too:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=idMa4a6eA9M

 

[kyleb]

Wow, is there no way to put a fixed gear plane into rough water without it flipping?

Rough water, smooth water, whatever. You're likely to pitch nose down at the least, and may go inverted. A buddy ditched a Cherokee, which ended up very nose down in the water as soon as the crash was over. He doesn't think the airplane ever went past about 90 degrees nose down, but who knows? A lot was going on in those few seconds.

 

[ElPaso Pilot]

Wow, is there no way to put a fixed gear plane into rough water without it flipping?

To me, it looks like the water was shallow enough that the soft sand may have been a factor as well.

 

[Bill Watson]

Wow, is there no way to put a fixed gear plane into rough water without it flipping?

I recall reading some tips on ditching sailplanes in Finnish lakes. Apparently, cross country soaring competitors face a lot of unlandable territory there and sometimes have to face a choice between pine forest or lake. One might think that a slick sailplane with gear up might be able to splash down gently.

Sailplane

One bit of advice involved making sure you were in deep enough water to avoid becoming a mud torpedo! Sailplanes will tend to 'bunt' under upon landing. The advice included allowing the ship to pop back up to the surface before opening the canopy and getting out. At the same time, one could expect it to sink in short order so don't land out too far. Whew!

It seemed that the Italian accident occurred at high tide. Too bad because if the water had been down a bit he might have had a shot at landing between the surf and the high tide line where the sand would perhaps been firm enough for a landing (among the spectators).

 

[Matthew]

Gliders generally have the advantage of lower energy when landing:

https://youtu.be/QphwzcpTESw