Although it is tempting to disregard swell movement and land directly into the wind, this must be avoided. In this ease, the pilot probably should compromise between landing parallel to the swells and into the wind. If the crosswind component exceeds half the landing speed, it might be wiser to land into the wind as long as the touchdown can be made in a valley between swells or on the backside of a swell. Otherwise a wingtip may dig in and cause total loss of control. The aircraft most likely will come to rest in a nose-down attitude because an airplane s center of gravity usually is ahead of its center of buoyancy.
Immediate evacuation is imperative even if the aircraft appears to be floating well.
The typical general aviation aircraft will flood and submerge in about one minute, but don't let that worry you needlessly. Many aircraft float so long that they become a hazardous to surface vessels and have to be sunk. Also, whether an aircraft sinks or floats does not appear to effect the excellent survival rate. If the door cannot be opened because of water pressure from outside the cabin, open a window and wait for water entering the cabin to equalize the pressure. The door should then open quite easily.