There are many ditchings in the world every year, but very few involve big jets. Below are three examples of jet ditchings and one involving a turboprop in the last 10 years.
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23 November 2002: a Garuda Boeing 737-300 suffered engine flame-out in a tropical rainstorm and ditched on a river near Jogjakarta, Indonesia. Only one person died.
- 8 April 2003: a Dassault Falcon 20 ran out of fuel on its second approach and ditched in the Mississippi near St Louis. Both pilots survived. There were no passengers.
- 22 July 2003: a Cessna CitationJet ditched with a pitch trim failure, and the crew elected to set down in Oak Harbour, Victoria, Canada, near the shore. The two pilots swam ashore.
- 6 August 2005: a turboprop - a Tuninter ATR 72 - ran out of fuel and ditched in the Mediterranean north of Sicily. There were 16 fatalities out of the 39 people on board. A high-wing aircraft gives less evacuation time because the wings do not provide flotation until the fuselage has disappeared beneath the surface.
Source: Flight International
