Obviously, we pay a bit more attention to this subject in Hawaii than
others might. Personally, I would rather make a forced landing on water
than in tough terrain. A big advantage is there is no fire danger. The
secret to success in the water is to be able to read the surface and to
be prepared. The latter means life raft, life jackets and
survival/rescue kit. The ditchings that go fatal usually result from
failure to provide egress or failure to be able to deal with the
situation once in the water. I think I read that something like 90% of
ditchings are survivable. Unfortunately, many simply die in the water
for various reasons, usually related to not being prepared as above.

With respect to gear down, I have never heard this recommended. Perhaps
there are some airplanes and some flat water conditions where this could
work, but I would never bet on it. It is correct that dipping a wing is
a major danger, and in ocean swells, this could be a real challenge. But
dipping one wheel would be at least as hazardous. Fixed gear ditching
procedures call for the presumption that you are going to end up
inverted (a good assumption to make even with gear up). Therefore, your
mental egress exercise needs to practice the appropriate moves (with and
without a passenger). If you can do it upside down, you can do it right
side up.

Given a choice, I would always opt for wheels up. Nonetheless, your main
worries are egress from the rapid sinking of the typical SEL airplane
(less than 60 seconds for an A-36 Bonanza), nose vertically down, and
rescue. We are hoping the integrity of the cabin in our LIV-P would be
better than that, but have no plans for a test!

Brian Barbata