Water Landing: Airlines Cut Life Vests
If vests are cut to save weight, should airlines add heavy Internet access?
Jan. 21, 2009 — -- When is a plane a boat?
Well, most of us saw that first-hand last week. I, for one, sat mesmerized in front of my computer watching the live TV coverage -- intent on that large jet bobbing aimlessly in the Hudson River.
I almost couldn't believe my eyes, as I strained to hear the story of US Airways Flight 1549 -- and one thought kept going through my brain: How in the heck was that plane staying afloat?
Of course, much of the credit has to go to Capt. Chesley B. Sullenberger for his remarkable skills -- as well as his inspiring grace under pressure. I mean, he landed his crippled aircraft almost gently on the Hudson. And it stayed afloat. Well, it floated long enough so that all of the 150-plus people on board were able to get to safety -- most of them with only wet feet to show for it.
And of course, let's not forget that his US Airways plane -- an Airbus A320 -- was equipped with a "ditch switch." This is an innocuous little device that is literally an on/off switch located on the aircraft's overhead panel (above the plane's windshield). A pilot can manually activate it to close the outflow valve and avionic ventilation ports -- in other words, the openings below the aircraft's float line that could let water in.
So that explains those incredible photos of passengers standing on the wings -- and how everyone was able to get out in plenty of time, right? Except, according to an Associated Press report based on interviews with federal aviation officials, neither Sullenberger nor his co-pilot had time to flip the ditch switch.
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Of course, a couple of other factors were in play, in regards to the plane's floatability: Fuel is lighter than water, which helped the aircraft stay buoyant. Plus, today's planes are well made, so that if a pilot can land one without breaking it up or causing other structural damage, it can float for a while -- as we have seen.
And a rare sight it is: Some have said this is the first successful water landing of a jet in modern aviation.
