Flying On Board Seaplanes

Familiarize yourself with these matters before your flight:

• Baggage limits and stowage locations
• Seat belt operation
• Securing of seat backs and table trays
• Situational awareness
• Exit locations and operation
• Safety briefing card (always review before flight)
• Equipment - ELT, survival kit, first aid kit, fire extinguisher, oxygen
• Electronic devices
• Life preserver location and operation
• No smoking requirements
• Underwater egress

Pilots are required to provide a complete safety briefing before takeoff. Be sure all the above are covered. Ask questions if you are unsure about anything.

Should an accident occur, your pilot may be unable to provide additional instructions regarding an emergency landing or evacuation. Prior to every takeoff and landing, passengers should have a clear understanding of what their actions would be if they needed to locate and operate exits, regardless of aircraft orientation.

Baggage

Unsecured baggage can cause serious injury. Many operators do not permit carry-on baggage in the cabin— check with your pilot to find out if it is permitted, and if so, where the approved stowage areas are. Check with your pilot before packing or carrying gases, corrosives, aerosols, flammable liquids, explosives (including ammunition), poisons, magnetic materials or any other material or substance of which you are uncertain. Carrying certain dangerous goods or hazardous materials on board a seaplane is illegal.

Seat belt operation

Make sure it fits tight around your hips at all times, and always use the shoulder harness when available. Practice locating and releasing the latch with both hands and your eyes closed until you are confident you could do so in an emergency.

Situational awareness

Locate the exit in relation to your left or right knee. If the exit is on your right while upright then it will still be on your right in the event the seaplane comes to rest inverted. No matter how disorienting an accident, as long as your seat belt is fastened, your relationship to the exit(s) remains the same. Be familiar with your surroundings so you can find your way to an exit, even with your eyes closed.

Exit locations and operation

Ensure you know the location of, and how to use, all exits. The method of opening an exit may be different from one seaplane to another, and even within the same aircraft. Ask the pilot if you can practice opening the exit(s) before engine start up.

Equipment

Know the location of all on-board safety and survival equipment, including the emergency locator transmitter (ELT), survival kit and equipment, first aid kit, oxygen and fire extinguisher. See the safety features card for details.

Electronic devices

Check with your pilot for restrictions on the use of electronic devices. Typically, devices that are permitted may not be used during the take-off and landing phases.

Life preserver location and operation

Locate yours! Know how to reach it, how to put it on and how to inflate it. Seaplanes are required to carry life preservers or personal flotation devices (PFD) for every occupant. Check with your pilot to see if the life preserver is to be worn in-flight. If so, wear it, but NEVER INFLATE IT WHILE IN THE AIRCRAFT.

Underwater egress

In water accidents, seaplanes tend to come to rest inverted. The key to your survival is to retain your situational awareness and to expeditiously exit the aircraft. The following actions are recommended once the seaplane momentum subsides:

1. Stay calm - Think about what you are going to do next. Wait for the significant accident motion to stop.
2. Grab your life preserver/PFD - If time permits, put on, or at least, grab your life preserver or PFD. DO NOT INFLATE IT until after exiting. It is impossible to swim underwater with an inflated life preserver. You may get trapped.
3. Open the exit and grab hold - If sitting next to an exit, find and grab the exit handle in relation to your left or right knee as previously established. Open the exit. The exit may not open until the cabin is sufficiently flooded and the inside water pressure has equalized. DO NOT release your seat belt and shoulder harness until you are ready to exit. It is easy to become disoriented if you release your seat belt too early. The body’s natural buoyancy will cause you to float upwards, making it more difficult to get to the exit.
4. Release your seat belt/harness - Once the exit is open, and you know your exit path, keep a hold of a fixed part of the seaplane and release your belt with the other hand.
5. Exit - Proceed in the direction of your nearest exit. If this exit is blocked or jammed, immediately go to the nearest alternate exit. Always exit by placing one hand on a fixed part of the aircraft, and not letting go before grabbing another fixed part (hand over hand). Pull yourself through the exit. Do not let go until you are out. Resist the urge to kick, as you may become entangled in loose wires or debris, or you might kick a person exiting right behind you. If you become stuck, back up to disengage, twist your body 90 degrees, and then exit.
6. Getting to the surface - Once you have exited the seaplane, follow the bubbles to the surface. If you cannot do so, as a last resort inflate your life preserver. Exhale slowly as you rise.
7. Inflate your life preserver - Only inflate it when you are clear of the wreckage, since life preservers can easily get caught on wreckage, block an exit, or prevent another passenger from exiting.

For information, comments, or to obtain additional copies, please contact the Transport Canada Civil Aviation Communications Centre at 1 800 305-2059 or on the Web site at www.tc.gc.ca/CivilAviation/secretariat/centre/ menu.htm