Seaplane flying is safe. Dot.
Even under demanding weather conditions pilots flew safely from all over Europe to the first German Seaplane Day. Also all (formation) flights during the event occurred without even the slightest distress.
Nevertheless seaplane flying means handling a complex aviation environment that the pilot should be capable of. If a server gets you the wrong wine to your restaurant table that might be bad reputation for the restaurant. It will not do any life threatening harm to you or others. Such an error can be excused. Pilots and many others (like e.g. doctors) do not have the opportunity of making failures. On their decisions, knowledge and perfection lives of others are depending.
Not everybody is capable of such a demand. But he who is responsible for the life of others should know his personal performance limits. Or at least the company who employs the pilot should see this. It is demanding to do many different kinds of flight a day and still to know what has to be done on that specific landing. That's what checklists are for and why they have to be used. Also acoustic and visual warning systems before touch down are standard in modern seaplanes. Those warning systems not installed in a plane that is used for commercial operation is neglection of the life of others, as well as a very high and unrealisitic opinion of the impeccability of the pilot.
The community should not support people who communicate that a pilot's failure, neglection or lacking responsibilities for passengers are something like an unavoidable accident. It also hurts all safe pilots and their operations and such wrongly maculates the seaplane community in general.
An accident is something that occurs because of the will of God, fate, the green goddess or whomever you believe in. Fate occurs while no human could have done anything to avoid the outcome. That has nothing to do with choosing the wrong landing gear for a seaplane landing. That is bad airmanship by not using a checklist, overrating of ones capabilities, being overtaxed by the task, and disdain of the life others.
To get the most out of your experience please choose the organisation for your seaplane activities carefully. If in doubt ask for a safety record of the past years. Do not only rely on the ballyhoo self-adulation of a company. Like in other places sometimes the more quiet ones are the more reliant ones.
Environment
No engine or motor part, no propeller, rotor or other driving part will ever touch the water when flying a seaplane. The only thing is the fuselage like on any other boat that may get contact with water for takeoff or landing. On other types of seaplanes with straight floats only the floats – air filled ski-like landing gear – will shortly touch the surface.
So at a lake, at sea or on a river there is nothing more friendly to environment than a seaplane. 
Birds, and all kinds of them, seem to see a seaplane as a bigger one of their kind and are usually very curious about the new big bird.
Last Updated on Monday, 16 August 2010 11:10
