[Laurent Rizzotti]

Hi Joe,

This is perfectly possible, as the aircraft seems not heavily damaged on available picture. It landed on its wheels just off a beach, and may even have been repaired if it had not nosed over.

Saldy it nosed over, and three men in the nose were drowned (pilot, copilot and one passenger) but all other parts of the aircraft were over the water.

So maybe the aircraft was not deemed beyond repair on the day of the "ditching", but some days later.