Cryptic crossword clue
Takes plane, which lands in the sea American

The most common and most likely answer to this crossword clue is the 6 letter word JETSAM

I've seen this crossword clue in The Guardian
J
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S
A
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Buddy explains!

The straight part
We know that "which lands in the sea" is the straight/definition part of the clue. The straight part is often a synonym or definition, in this case which lands in the sea = jetsam.
The cryptic/wordplay part
In cryptic crossword there's often an wordplay/cryptic part as well.
This part involves a more complex hint, such as an anagram, homophone, hidden word, etc.
Sadly, We don't have an explanation for this specific crossword clue yet.

What does JETSAM mean?

JETSAM noun
  1. Articles thrown overboard from a ship or boat in order to lighten the load of a ship in distress
  2. (by extension) discarded odds and ends

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