This paper reviews all aircraft accidents from 1952 to 1987 involving Royal Canadian Air Force or Canadian Forces aircrew ditching, parachuting or ejecting into fresh water. In that period there have been a total of 42 accidents involving 105 personnel. The survival rate was 61 percent compared with a 57 percent survival rate in sea water accidents. All rescues were completed in under 12 hours. Aircrews had less than 1 minute warning in 81 percent of the accidents. There were fatalities in 53 percent of the short warning accidents. Seventeen types of aircraft were involved in the accidents. There was one case of clinical hypothermia and 5 cases in which the crew were very cold and survival was attributed principally to quick rescue. Difficulties have occurred in inflating life jackets and deploying the life raft. Otherwise there is little data on the performance of these items. Immersion suits were not worn in any accidents. In general the problems encountered in ditching in fresh water were the same as those encountered in ditching in sea water.


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    Title :

    Canadian Aircrew Fresh Water Survival 1952-1987


    Contributors:

    Publication date :

    1988


    Size :

    28 pages


    Type of media :

    Report


    Type of material :

    No indication


    Language :

    English