General
ditching
What does ditching mean?
A forced landing of an aircraft on water. Usually engine failure, battle damage, or running out of fuel over the sea. The pilot's last decent option short of bailing out.
"He nursed the Lanc halfway across the Channel before ditching off Dover."
Origin
RAF, WWII-era. A controlled emergency water landing — from 'ditch' as in any body of water (sailors' slang for the sea going back centuries, e.g. 'the big ditch').
Frequently asked questions
What does ditching mean in aviation?
Ditching is putting an aircraft down in the sea, whether on purpose or in an emergency.
How do you use ditching in a sentence?
"The crew trained for ditching in case they had to land on water."
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