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WW II plane crashes

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glad the pilot is OK - but sad for the plane
 
Here's a video of it. The pilot put it down pretty darned softly.

 
wow
 
They have to get it out of the saltwater as fast as they can! Even if they do, it'll have to be stripped down and cleaned with a salt-diminishing solvent. Done right, each sheet metal panel needs to be disassembled and cleaned rivet by rivet if they want it kept in airworthy condition. Saltwater and aircraft sheetmetal are not a friendly match!
 
I'm just impressed beyond belief at the skill and judgement the pilot exhibits. Choosing exactly the right place to set it down (not in the sand it would probably flip even if the people were absent), in shallow enough water that it won't sink (which I believe is more for ensuring survival than aircraft recovery - if it doesn't sink you won't drown even if trapped in the cockpit) and riding that stall speed all the way to the end to make as slow an entry as possible. This video should be in the textbook of emergency landings done right
 
It's a shame that they just got this bird airworthy last year. Most of the TBM Avenger guys seem to agree that a split cylinder was the culprit of the mechanical failure based on the sound the engine was making before the ditching. Pilot did a great job getting the plane down. Really a textbook ditching. LeRoy Grumman really knew his stuff when it came to carrier aircraft. He knew landing in the water was always a possibility, and pretty much every Grumman designed for carrier ops had good ditching characteristics.

Avengers are very straightforward aircraft, much like working on cars from the same era. Just like how LeRoy Grumman knew he had to design a plane to ditch correctly, he also built a plane that was easy to maintain, and more importantly, repair after receiving battle damage. There's no doubt this plane could certainly fly again. The "X" factor is how much money is it going to take.
 
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