Many people have a fear of flying, though drowning is not usually a concern that people tend to have in regards to a plane crash. In the event of a crash, there can be some concern that there won’t be enough time to get out of the planes. So this may lead some to be concerned about the survivability of a crash in the water.
Can an airplane float on water? As we saw with flight 1549, yes, airplanes can and do float. Though this is not their primary design, they are designed this way in the event of a water landing, assuming that the plane stays intact during landing. Although there are also planes designed specifically for landing on the water as well.
While most planes can land on water and float by design, it also largely depends on the landing and if the pilot is able to keep the plane mostly intact. The more damage, the less likely it is able to stay afloat. This is a matter of design to help ensure the survival of the passengers until they can exit the plane; though some planes are designed to float regardless.
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What Flight 1549 Taught Us About Floating Planes
On January 15, 2009, Pilot Chelsey B. Sullenberger III landed Flight 1549 in the Hudson River, and due to the skills of both the pilot and co-pilot, all 155 souls (both passengers and crew) survived the ordeal with minimal injuries. While you may not have heard the story, you may have seen or at least heard of the movie (“Sully”) made about the incident.
In a move referred to as “ditching,” Captain Sullenberger was able to land flight 1549 on the Hudson River in a way that left the plane nearly completely intact. “Ditching” is an aviation term that refers to a controlled crash of sorts. In this particular case, power was lost to both engines, which meant the plane was going down. The flight crew had no choice but to land.
Through the skills of the pilot and co-pilot, they were able to bring the plane down relatively safely (though there were both risks to the landing and some injuries to the passengers). This is only the second time that a water landing had resulted in zero casualties. Although the design allows for limited floatation to ensure evacuation, damage during landing can prevent it.
The incredible events that led to the landing of Flight 1549 in the Hudson River started with a flock of birds and ended with the amazing skills of a well-trained flight crew. If commercial planes were not designed in the way they are, all 155 lives would have been lost, and this is the exact reason that commercial planes are designed to float if they are landed intact.
Do watch the documentary below to learn more about the pilots’ handling of the airplane, as well as the rescue operation.
Commercial Plane Designs, Why They Float
While commercial planes, such as those made by companies like Boeing, are designed to ensure both the safety and survivability of the crew and passengers in the event of a crash, you may not realize that floating would be an aspect of this design, but it is an intended side effect. More care and precision is put into the designs of commercial planes than many of us realize.
Planes, commercial or private, are designed specifically for survivability in the event of a crash, and this does include floating, at least for a limited time period, to allow for the passengers and crew to get out before it sinks. While planes are obviously not boats and will not float for long periods of time, they will float for a couple of minutes, if not badly damaged, to allow for escape.
The biggest issue isn’t so much the plane being able to float, but being able to land, or rather crash in a controlled manner, in a way that enables the main body of the plane, or the fuselage, to stay intact for it to be able to float after landing. If the fuselage takes too much damage, it won’t hold the air required for even limited floating, which results in drowning instead.
In the event of a ground landing, the belly of the plane, or base of the fuselage, will take the brunt of the damage. This helps to ensure the best chance for survivors, but in a water landing, if the belly gets damaged, the plane no longer has the ability to float. This is where the training and skills of the flight crew comes into play when it comes to saving passenger lives.
Planes Designed to Land on Water
There is a classification of planes that are actually designed to land on water known as seaplanes. Rather than having typical landing gear, these types of planes are designed mainly for transport to more remote locations, such as islands that are more cut off from the rest of the world, although these used to be much more commonplace than they are now.
While you won’t find a large commercial plane that does this, some communities do depend on these types of planes for transportation of both passengers and supplies to those communities. This is common in sections of Alaska, where the residents of an area are completely cut off in terms of supplies.
In some of these remote areas, life depends on planes that can both land and take off from bodies of water. They can transport both goods that are not available in that area to personnel to help those communities, from vets to doctors, on a regular basis to aid those living in remote locations.
While a seaplane can land on both lakes and oceans, it is the ground landings that are actually more difficult due to the design. A seaplane is designed specifically to land on the water. However, there are also planes known as amphibians that can land on either land or water.
What Makes Seaplanes Different From Normal Airplanes?
The main difference in seaplanes is that they land on pontoons rather than wheels. While this gives the major advantage of being able to float for an indefinite period of time on any body of water large enough to land on, this type of plane also comes with its limitations. The pontoons can prevent a seaplane from being able to land on land, and will cause more drag meaning that more fuel will be consumed.
There are actually two different kinds of seaplanes, known as floatplanes and flying boats.
Float Planes: These are what one may initially think of when considering a seaplane and what is seen in the old TV show “Fantasy Island.” These are planes with the pontoons just under the plane rather than landing gear. Designed specifically for water landings and take-offs, they are designed to be able to snug up to a dock and do tend to be a bit larger than typical small planes.
Flying Boats: These are different in design from float planes since it is the fuselage itself that causes the plane to float. The fuselage, or main body of the plane, is reinforced underneath the plane to be able to withstand the landing on water and may also include floats under the wings to help balance the weight on the water as well.
Flying boats are less common today than they were during the 20th century, and are used mostly to drop water on forest fires and to perform air transports to undeveloped areas or archipelagos.
Amphibian planes are able to land on sea or land, though these are always going to be smaller airplanes used for transporting goods or limited passengers into remote locations. Amphibian planes are more likely to be used for military service than seaplanes due to the versatility in landing, but only in remote locations.
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