Originally Posted by
DEVOREFLYER
I have several hundred hours of flight time in light aircraft and it is easy to Monday morning quarterback. The pilot made the best decision under the circumstances. Light aircraft are just that light weight and very fragile in comparison to other means of transportation. The plane also had a non retractable landing gear and the pilot side window opens less than a foot, too small to allow escape thru. Water is not soft and if he had attempted to land in the water it could have been a life ending event for the pilot.
First the minimum stall speed would have been higher than 60 mph. When the wheels first touched the water at that speed the plane would have flipped over and the fuselage would have most likely sustain damage preventing the door from being able to open. Drowning would have almost been a certainty; pilots are taught a water landing is a last resort in an emergency. He attempted to set the airplane down at the shoreline where the sand is firm. As such he still made contact with shallow water flipping the aircraft.
When an aircraft is underpowered or under no power your ability to control the aircraft is very very limited, gravity is not your friend. Tragic that someone sustained injury but my opinion is the pilot did everything by the book.