On July 19 1909, Hubert Latham, in attempting the first cross channel flight, suffered engine failure only 8 miles after takeoff, making it the first airplane to land on the water. The Antoinette IV aircraft floated and Mr Latham, sat up out of the cockpit, lit a cigarette and waited for the French torpedo boat Harpon to rescue him. The plane was recovered, but was damaged enough that it set back his schedule. In the meantime, Louis Bleriot arrived, bent on the same goal and 6 days later, managed to be the first pilot to fly the channel.
Hmm... update; Maybe not the first, do Samuel Langley's glider flights/crashes on the Potomac count? 
2 comments:
Kinda interesting this morning, did he land or did he crash or did he do both? Looked up the defs and can't really say, both seem to apply:)
The description said the engine quit, piece of wire in the cylinder? so the craft glided into the water. Speeds could not have been high but the plane probably stopped pretty quick. He wasn't hurt, except for wet feet, but the plane needed work. So we can count that as a landing?
As for Mr Langley, I think those count as crashes.
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