re: Can we just agree that this was the fate of the Malaysian flight?

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Is it possible to land a 777 softly in open sea?

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A Boeing 777 is designed to be capable of ditching safely on the water and stay afloat. That is why there are 8 slide rafts in the aircraft capable of accommodating more than 300 passengers in the event of a safe ditching on the sea.

How long will the B777 stay afloat on the water will depends on many factors. Firstly, there must not be substantial damage on the aircraft body to cause massive leaks. Secondly, the ditching must be properly executed (it is possible to do so) and the impact with the water surface must be reduced sufficiently to that of a normal landing profile. The sea condition must also be reasonably smooth.

According to Boeing, if the Boeing 777 ditching is properly handled with an optimum center of gravity and normal gross weight, the airplane should come to a rest slightly nose high on the water. The forward doors should be about four and a half feet and the aft doors be about two and a half feet above the water. At high gross weight, the aft doors may be less that two feet.

After ditching, an undamaged Boeing777 will stay afloat for a fairly long time - something like a drifting boat on the sea (see story below).

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It will float

FWIW, I talked to my brother who just retired from Am. Airlines and he said a plane with fuel in the wings would actually help the plane float because of jet fuel being lighter than water. He also said there is no fuel dump capabilities on a 777.