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Page name is Water landing
In distress
editPassenger airplane water ditchings
edit- On 22 October 1962, a Northwest Airlines DC-7C with 7 crew and 95 passengers[1] made a successful water landing in Sitka Sound just before 1 p.m. local time after struggling with propeller problems for 45 minutes [2] while operating as a military charter flight between McChord Air Force Base and Elmendorf Air Force Base. The plane stayed afloat for 24 minutes after coming to rest in the water, giving the occupants ample time to evacuate into life-rafts with only 6 minor injuries reported. All passengers and crew were quickly rescued by U.S. Coast Guard ships.[3] The accident report called the ditching "an outstanding feat," citing several key factors in this water landing's success: pilots' skill, ideal conditions (calm seas, favorable weather, daylight), time to prepare for the ditching and the military passengers' ease with following orders. [4] Pilots who flew over the scene also praised the Northwest crew, calling it the "...finest ditching they had ever seen..." .[5]
- ^ AIRCRAFT ACCIDENT REPORT: DOUGLAS DC-7C, N285 NORTHWEST AIRLINES, INC. Ditching in Sitka Sound, Alaska October 22, 1962. Washington, DC: Civil Aeronautics Board. September 19, 1963. p. 1.
- ^ "DC-7 Ditches In Sea Near Sitka; All Safe". The Seattle Daily Times. October 22, 1962.
- ^ Sims, Ward T. (October 23, 1962). "102 Saved As Plane Ditches". Seattle Post Intelligencer.
- ^ AIRCRAFT ACCIDENT REPORT: DOUGLAS DC-7C, N285 NORTHWEST AIRLINES, INC. Ditching in Sitka Sound, Alaska October 22, 1962. Washington, DC: Civil Aeronautics Board. September 19, 1963. p. 5.
- ^ Sims, Ward T. (October 23, 1962). "102 Saved As Plane Ditches". Seattle Post Intelligencer.