1. Stay positive—Remember that only 12% of ditchings end in fatalities.
2. Don’t fly over a marine layer (You won’t see where you are ditching, the Coast Guard won’t fly into it, and rescuers won’t see you).

3. Turn to the ditching point immediately while maintaining the best glide speed (1 minute of gliding will take you approximately 1 nautical mile, thus to glide 10 NM you will need to glide for 10 minutes).

4. Unlatch the doors.

5. Always land PARALLEL to the waves (Don’t worry about the direction of the wind—just the swells). If you miscalculate, it’s much better to land with the wave rather than into an oncoming wave which will stop you too abruptly.

6. Fixed gear aircraft are actually safer for ditching than retractable gear aircraft because they will be traveling slower.

7. Low wing aircraft should leave the flaps retracted so they won’t pitch the nose down after impact.