Originally Posted by
ClueByFour
I'll tell you the question I have: does the infamous "ditch switch" on the 320 retract the RAT? And if it does, how'd they keep the wings level until it went in? Or did he wait until the last second to hit ye olde "ditch switch?"
The NTSB report is going to make for interesting reading. In a few years, of course.
Once the RAT is deployed, whether manually or automatically, it is down until a mechanic stows it or it is sheared off.
The ditching pushbutton will, assuming that the pressurization system is in auto, close all doors below the waterline; outflow valve, pack ram air cooling doors etc.
If the airplane was utilizing the RAT for emergency power and Blue hydraulic power then alternate law would have been active.
The only way normal law would have been possible would have required the APU to be running to provide normal electrical power and at least one engine would have had to be running/windmilling to provide normal hydraulic pressure to one of the two engine driven hyd systems. (The engine driven HYD pumps will provide pressure at very low N2 speed)