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While working for the oil industry in Alaska I had the opportunity to fly
as a passenger in helicopters over the Gulf of Alaska and also the Arctic
Ocean.  A manditory requirement for being onboard the helicopter
(passenger and crew) was to wear a survival suit.  The reason for this is
that in the event the helicopter goes down, your chance of survival is
greatly increased if you are already wearing the survival suit.  The
survival suits are great for maintaining body warmth and can be equipped
with flares, dye, a personal strobe lights and other minimal survival
equipment.

I believe the statistics for float plane accidents show that when a plane
crashes in the the water the occupants often only exit the plane with what
they have on their backs.  When flying my float plane (mostly over rivers
and lakes), I would wear a Mustang inflatable fishing vest with pockets
filled survival gear.  My suggestion for flying over extended amounts of
water would be:

1. Properly preflight the aircraft
2. Verify that you have enough fuel for the flight
3. File a flight plan
4. Wear a survival suit with minimum survival gear
5. Fly at an altitude that allows plenty of time to broadcast an emergency
message including the long/lat. of your location, time to try to restart
the engine, and glide toward a boat if one is in the area
6. Fly the plane to a controlled ditching at minimum controllable
airspeed, landing parallel with any swells and near a boat if possible
7. Crack open the canopy prior to landing
8. Be prepared to find yourself either nose down or upside down after you
have ditched to reduce the chances of being disoriented immediate after
landing
9. Exit the plane immediately

The likelihood of a ditching is very small but we get peace of mind by
being prepared for it.  This also reduces the "automatic rough" perception
where our engines automatically appear to run rough when we get out of
gliding range of land.

Jim Thomas
L2K-20%

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