I haven't seen anyone post about this story yet.

http://tinyurl.com/5mfx85

Two Swedish citizens (one was an Australian and the other Danish by birth) lost both engines, one shortly after the other, on a trans-Atlantic ferry flight, south of Baffin Island. I have to say, when I first heard the reports, I thought the SAR guys would be lucky to find the bodies; I was amazed to hear that both men had survived.

They landed on the ice, but it wasn't strong enough to support the weight of the aircraft; they managed to scramble out, but the aircraft sank immediately taking their liferaft with it. They were able to scramble to firmer ice, and were picked up, after 18 hours in -20 C temperatures, by a fishing boat that had joined the search.

First of all, good for them for surviving. Their survival suits kept them alive, and the pilot presumably did a good job of putting the plane down on the ice. (A SAR spokesman said that 'if the two men from Sweden had been forced to land on water their chances of survival "would have been very, very much lower."'

My first question, though, would be "What good is a life raft if you can't get it out of the plane in time?" Presumably, the idea behind having a life raft is to use it if you have to land in the water; these guys had more time than that, but still barely managed to get themselves out.

Second question: what would you have done if you were one of the two pilots? (I'm not asking what you would have done differently, because the story doesn't contain enough detail on what they actually did.)

The two men were NOT wearing survival suits and life preservers flying that Cessna, I CAN GARANTEE THAT!
They probably grabbed those two items first and couldn't get the liferaft in time, but they did have the most essential gear under the circumstances.
Unless you'r flying a floatplane or amphibian, no plane is going to remain buoyant very long.
What would I do if the copilot? Move to North Africa, buy an old flying boxcar and effect a Jimmy Stewart stutter.

My father's old flying buddies always said, "Any landing you can walk away from is a good landing".

I think they did a good job, given the circumstances.

The article says they climbed through a window to get out of the plane, so it may not have been possible for them to get the life raft out, or there just wasn't time. There's no real indication that the plane was upright at the time -- it might have been on it's side or something. If I had the choice between getting out directly onto ice and staying dry vs. diving into the water to get the raft, forget the raft.

Being someone who left my purse and paycheck on the seat when my car caught fire (many years ago), I can attest to the single thought of "GET OUT!" It's all that is in your mind.

Sue

I'm standing on a piece of ice in the Northern Atlantic.
My life raft, which would have made an expedient shelter didn't.
I reach into my pockets and belt.
Yes, oh yes,yes,yes! My ATAX, Tom Brown Tracker, Busse Battlemistrss is JUST what I need for that whale swimming by.
And then I'll make fire with my favourite Highland New Guinea fire piston made of exotic wood and maya dust.
A PLB, some signaling items, chocolate, fruitcake would be in my pockets (I hope.)

Maybe they were dimensionally challenged and that allowed space for the Mustang suit and pfd.

And the waiter asks "PLB anybody??"

Why do you say that? From the reports, it does sound like they were wearing them when they ditched in the water. Not having ever worn one personally - do you know if it possible to be reasonably comfortable and able to fly a plane in one?
18 hours overnight in -13*C weather and at likely at least partly wet could not have been fun!

It would be hard to leave my Nuclear Meltdown Fusion Battlemistress behind, you never know when you may have to chop an iceberg in half and kill a whale with one chop. You gotta love INFI.... Just kidding though, any landing you can walk away is a good landing and survival suits are top priority when traveling over water, I don't think they had a PLB on them though.

P.S. Chris the Busse INFI Khukuri will be released next year and it is a devastating chopper with INFI steel, I know how you Love Busse knives (I can see you gritting at the teeth).

http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=597295

The Busse Khukuri design has been finished for quite a while and all field testing has been completed . . . .

It is very cool. . . .

There are some pretty cool design surprises for those of you who have been following the Busse Khukuri thread. . .

Boy howdy!!!!. . . . just when you thought you knew what to expect. . . . BANG everything changes!!!! . . . . YOWZA!!!!

It will be released sometime next year (2009)

Prepare for HOGZILLA!!!!!!!

Jerry

When a light plane lands hard the structure may bend so that the door (yes there is inly one) will not open. I had this happen to me in a 310 that the polit tried to fly through the run way. So here you are after having the stuff scared out of you comming to rest on the ice , first you get out, with out the door through the window is a tight fit, so you step away from the aircraft and take a deep beath and about that time the ice starts to crack and break up so the choice is the move the a better place where you will not have to swim for it or go back from life raft ect. I think they made the right choice.

I have heard it said what you have on you is the survial equipment the stuff in the back of the plane is camping equipmnet just to make things easier.

While some light aircraft have only a single door, many light aircraft have two or even three doors.

This wasn't a ditching, in the classic sense, so who knows what, exactly, transpired. However, there are plenty of occasions when the life raft does make it out, some when it does not. Lots of issues could impact how that happens. Bottom line, as others have noted, if it isn't with you, it cannot save you(tm).