> In a message dated 2/28/2007 11:46:17 PM Central Standard Time, 
> marv@lancair.net writes:
>
> In spite  of what the airliners tell you about a water landing,
> very few
> people  actually survive. In most small planes, everyone's spines
> snap just
> above  the pelvis as the lower seat belt holds them back against
> the seat and
> as  their upper bodies move violently forward as the plane skips
> and  bounces
> across the surface of the water. Everyone  dies.
>
>
> John,
>
> Interesting info about your friend, BUT I find the above
> information about 
> spinal injury lacking any sound basis in research or analysis.
> Either your 
> friend and his buddies defied the laws of physics (according to
> you) or the 
> information is incorrect about water ditchings.
>
> Regards,
>
> Jeff Edwards

Didn't something like 75% of the passengers in that hijacked 737 [crashed off the coast of Jamaca or some hot place] survive? My understanding of a 'typical' [if you can call them typical] water landing ends in the a/c upside down [if it has the gear fixed or down] and spinning if its retractable. [Wing tip dig's and spins the plane around.]Rarely does someone just come skimming in and slide to a nice stop, but I've never heard of them being so violent to break spines. We all wear shoulder harnesess right? I'd be no different than crashing a car into a lake at 60+mph [ well it would be in the sense that the car probably wouldn't 'skip' across the water..]. A full size car could have just as much kinetic engergy as a Lancair  at the same speed..[depending on several things but... roughly..]

Curious where this theory came from..

Jarrett Johnson

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