Whooah, what a save.

[DangerousDave]

An American ex F-4 Phantom, Nam era pilot. He ditches in the least possible resistant landing spot. Every Body, loddy doddy, survives. 155 out of 155 lives extended. Remarkable, in the least.

[kman]

Great job by the pilot, indeed. Here's a list I ran across this morning of not-so-successful water ditchings;

From: http://boortz.com/nealz_nuze/2009/01/a- ... liner.html

A LITTLE RESEARCH ON AIRLINER DITCHING PAYS OFF
By Neal Boortz @ January 16, 2009 9:18 AM

Yesterday I was saying that I knew of no other successful ditchings of commercial jet airliners where the aircraft stayed intact and all parties survived. In fact, there has been one. Just one. From AirSafe.com here are the details on the three intentional jet airliner ditching events since 1960.

• October 1963; Aeroflot Tu124; Leningrad, USSR: According to a report in Flight International Magazine the aircraft was on a flight from Estonia to Moscow when a landing gear problem led to a diversion to Leningrad. While holding prior to landing and about 13 miles (20.8 km) from Leningrad airport, the aircraft ran out of fuel. The crew managed to land the aircraft on the nearby Neva River, where it remained floating on the surface. The aircraft was towed to shore and all 52 occupants survived.
  
  2 May 1970; ALM DC9-33CF; near St. Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands: The aircraft had departed JFK airport in New York for St. Maarten in the Netherlands Antilles. After three missed approaches, the crew diverted to St. Croix. While en route, the aircraft ran out of fuel and the crew ditched the aircraft. While the flight crew made specific preparations for ditching, the imminent ditching was not communicated to the cabin crew. As a result, several occupants were not belted in at the time of the ditching. The aircraft remained afloat for five to six minutes before sinking in waters about one mile (1600 meters) deep. One of the six crew members and 22 of the 57 passengers were killed. The accident was investigated by the NTSB and the details are available in NTSB report NTSB-AAR-71-8 dated 31 March 1971.
  
  23 November 1996; Ethiopian Airlines 767-200ER; near Moroni, Comoros Islands: The aircraft was on a flight from Ethiopia to Kenya when it was hijacked by at least two people. While attempting a landing near Moroni in the Comoros Islands the aircraft ran out of fuel and ditched near a beach. Ten of the 12 crew members and 117 of the 160 passengers were killed. The three hijackers apparently died.

[housil]

I was watching that accident the "whole night" at CNN

By Neal Boortz @ January 16, 2009 9:18 AM

23 November 1996; Ethiopian Airlines 767-200ER; near Moroni, Comoros Islands: The aircraft was on a flight from Ethiopia to Kenya when it was hijacked by at least two people. While attempting a landing near Moroni in the Comoros Islands the aircraft ran out of fuel and ditched near a beach. Ten of the 12 crew members and 117 of the 160 passengers were killed. The three hijackers apparently died.

Another