He was only 500' above the water for 7 seconds. There was nothing
controlled about the descent or the flight once he got into a death spiral.

Judah wrote:
"Steven P. McNicoll" wrote in
ink.net:


"Judah" wrote in message
...

The original point was that had he had flight following, he might
have survived. You are assuming that the OP meant that a controller
would have alerted him. I interpret it that had he been listening to
the frequency, he
might have been more aware of his surroundings and situation and
taken appropriate action.


So flight following can prevent spatial disorientation?




No, but it can prevent you from having your altimeter set incorrectly so
that you fly into the water when you think you are 500' above it...