Water landings are said to be near impossible to pull off for anything but hydroplanes (see also: the Hudson miracle) and yet water bombers do it as a matter of routine. How do they keep from crashing (or at least, losing so much speed that they can’t just climb again after scooping up the water) as soon as they hit water?
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Ditching in water is standard emergency procedure. Yes it has dangers and flipping is one of them but ultimately it’s something most planes can do.
Hydroplanes, or sea planes or boat planes, are amphibious planes that can land on water, either because they have pontoons that allow them to float, or the underside of the fuselage, like in firefighting planes, is shaped like the keel of a boat. That means the plane can land on the water on its belly and float like a boat. This hydrodynamic design means that it’s very difficult for the nose of the aircraft to snag in the water and flip over.
They’re basically made like boats so that they float like boats.
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