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TBM Avenger Ocean Ditching

Old 04-19-2021, 09:57 AM
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Default TBM Avenger Ocean Ditching

TBM Avenger in the drink off FL beach, pilot OK. Hopefully they can salvage the plane...


https://www.foxnews.com/us/wwii-era-...-landing-ocean
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Old 04-19-2021, 10:29 AM
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Salt water and aluminum airframes don't fare well. Its going to be a rebuild, at best.

Nice ditching, though.
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Old 04-20-2021, 05:29 AM
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Originally Posted by JohnBurke View Post

Nice ditching, though.




No helmet, no life vest and ditching dangerously close to beach goers in the water.

​​​​​​​
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Old 04-20-2021, 05:32 AM
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I won't QB the off-airport technique as long as it ends well.

But lack of basic safety gear in a plane like that does make you wonder.
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Old 04-20-2021, 06:53 AM
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Originally Posted by TiredSoul View Post
No helmet, no life vest and ditching dangerously close to beach goers in the water.
Who wears a helmet in those things? They didn’t even wear helmets back in WW2.

​​​​​​​Helmets in modern fighters aren’t even there to save you in a crash.
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Old 04-20-2021, 09:50 AM
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Originally Posted by jaxsurf View Post
Who wears a helmet in those things? They didn’t even wear helmets back in WW2.
They wore leather ones (same with football at the time). Mainly for bailout vice a crash, but still. That was then, this is now. Perhaps there was an operational reason for no helmet or life vest. I'd sure wear both in a warbird if I could.

Originally Posted by jaxsurf View Post
​​​​​​​Helmets in modern fighters aren’t even there to save you in a crash.
It wasn't a modern fighter.
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Old 04-20-2021, 11:04 AM
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Originally Posted by rickair7777 View Post
They wore leather ones (same with football at the time). Mainly for bailout vice a crash, but still. That was then, this is now. Perhaps there was an operational reason for no helmet or life vest. I'd sure wear both in a warbird if I could.
Yes but those were more or less just a platform for headsets and oxygen masks. I thought rigid helmets for bailout considerations/protection didn’t really take off until the Korean War timeframe.

Do people wear helmets in WW2 fighters these days? I guess I’ve never seen it.

EDIT: upon further research, it appears that some do.

It wasn't a modern fighter.
Say it ain’t so.
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Old 04-20-2021, 11:23 AM
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(Filler).....
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Old 04-20-2021, 11:57 AM
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Originally Posted by jaxsurf View Post
Who wears a helmet in those things? They didn’t even wear helmets back in WW2.

Helmets in modern fighters aren’t even there to save you in a crash.
Most do flying warbirds or aerobatics.
It will certainly be helpful in avoiding getting knocked unconscious in a crash or emergency landing and not being able to extract yourself.

The Cocoa Beach airshow is flown entirely over water if I’m not mistaken.
https://cocoabeachairshow.com/
Having the appropriate emergency gear would be appropriate.
I would expect the Orlando FSDO to look into this.
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Old 04-21-2021, 07:38 AM
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Originally Posted by TiredSoul View Post
I would expect the Orlando FSDO to look into this.
I'm sure they'll look at the event as will NTSB, but I don't think there's an actual mandate for safety gear in warbirds above and beyond what's required under 91.

I took the lack of helmet/life vest as a possible flag on the operator's attitude and approach to safety (a la collins foundation). But that's just gut reaction from the photo.


They did recover the plane, if nothing else it still has a future as a static display...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i27CN9uVIS4
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