"Jack & Bev Biagini" wrote in message
...

"Tim" wrote in message
..

I was told back in the 50's when I was in the Navy as a mech, that the
reason the pilot was on the right was that in a ditching situation the a/c
would pitch left on contact with the water

you mean "roll left", but why? Surely it's down to the pilot to decide which
way to roll the a/c to stop the blades.

and pull the a/c to the left. At
that time the most likely guy riding shotgun was a JO or an enlisted man
watching the engines ect. It was just a matter of economics, the PIC being
the more valuable of the two.

I'd have thought the remaining would disembark in the flare rather than wait
for the pilot to trap them in a sinking ship.

Surely the ability to reach the controls with the free hand would be a more
convincing reason for putting the pilot on the right.

Regards
Andrew


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