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The rapid sinking of a jet that has crashed into water is demonstrated.
Airplane flies in the sky over the sea. Men test the method of underwater escape. An airplane with a dummy pilot is lifted by a crane and is dropped into water from a low height. The airplane is again dropped from a higher distance and the plane submerges fast in the water. Lt. Jim Roth takes off in his plane from a carrier. Animation shows that the airplane with Pilot is falling into sea on take off. The results were that when an airplane falls, it submerges fast in water and it can go deep up to 100 feet in 10 seconds. Location: United States. Date: 1965.
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Video Summary
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Escaping from a ditched modern jet is significantly more dangerous than in the past due to rapid sink rates and physical constraints. Pilots face a critical window of only a few seconds to escape before the aircraft submerges and water pressure renders recovery nearly impossible, requiring instant, precise action under extreme stress.
Escape from a ditched aircraft used to be a simple affair.
The planes were more buoyant, and the pilot had few physical restraints linking him to
the cockpit.
But with today's jets, the airman who has to ditch has a barrage of physical handicaps
The most serious of these handicaps is the short time available for escape on the surface.
A series of tests were made to study the sink rates of jet aircraft dropped from various
heights and in different entry attitudes.
A jet dropped from only a few feet, sustaining no structural damage, submerges in less than
one minute.
With a full fuel and ordnance load, it would go down faster.
Dropped from 50 to 60 feet, the height of a carrier flight deck, the aircraft often
goes under in only a few seconds due to structural damage.
It was determined that a jet will submerge in anywhere from zero to 50 seconds, depending
on the damage caused by the ditching.
Considering the additional forces imposed by the catapult takeoff, it can be expected
to sink in considerably less than 30 seconds.
Once submerged, they go down fast, at rates up to 10 feet per second.
Another serious handicap is the pilot's momentary loss of physical dexterity during the catapult
shot.
The G-forces imposed during the shot often prevent him from taking positive action for
a second or two, and yet it is these first few seconds that are most important for survival.
It takes only two seconds for the aircraft to hit the water if it follows a ballistic
trajectory.
If it glides for a moment, a few additional seconds will be gained.
Assuming the pilot is not injured, valuable seconds are lost while he gathers his wits.
At this point, he can commence his escape, but each decision must be right and must be
carried out instantly and correctly.
This must be done in spite of a flooded cockpit, a rapidly sinking aircraft, and the darkness
of the depths closing in around him.
To further complicate the problem, the sinking airman undergoes the mental and physical effects
of increasing water pressure.
Once he sinks to about 100 feet, and this could be within 10 seconds at maximum sink
rate, there is little chance for recovery.
The combined mental and physical effects of the sudden changes in water pressure will
overcome his efforts to escape.
