Well, I know lots of small planes can have the doors taken off. the Cessna 152's at the local FBO are offered for Door-Off Photo Flights. Whether they're jettisonable in flight or not, I'm not sure.

As a pilot, the last thing I want to do is jump out of my plane while it's moving. Even when you stall the plane, you are still moving forward. Not much, compared to normal flight, but in the C-152 for example, even though you've stalled, you're still moving forward at about 30-35 MPH. If you hit the water at that speed, plus your vertical speed, you're either dead or stunned. If you can't swim, we all know what happens. Plus, if the plane is truly stalled, it's not developing any lift, so it'll DROP. And, it'll drop too close for comfort to where I am.

You're right, judging height over water is difficult, even during the day. At night, it's pretty well impossible unless you have radar altimeter, and that's very rare on most small aircraft. The aircraft can flip on it's back, but that's not as common as what some people think, according to reports from the NTSB I've read. I think I'd stay in the plane until it had stopped moving, with my belt very, very tight.
In today's aircraft, we're taught to open all the door prior to impact with water/land, because the fuselage can warp and jam the door. Those U-6's were a bit quirky anyway. A close friend of mine flew them for something like 10 years, and he's got some interesting stories to tell. Neat planes though!

And, you're correct...Harrison Ford (He'll always be Han Solo to me...) does have some interesting gear in that movie.... <img src="/images/graemlins/tongue.gif" alt="" />

Happy Flying,
Kyle