Their dead bodies float downstream until the flood recedes, and leaves them stranded on a bar or shore where they lie, half-buried in the sand until they decay.
Still, the service could make nervous those who fear they'd scratch the " surface" . Shaking loose a new " Spruce Goose" on sea or sky can " ground" its purpose.
That's why the crew intentionally ran the USS Nevada aground to save the ship but its survival is only part of the reason why this was known as the unsinkable battleship.