After posting I went hunting among other forums and spoiler sites for our answers.
Apparently prior to the signing of the new contract there was some question whether or not CBS and Joshua would come to an agreement. The episodes are written long in advance of the actual air date so the crash was written then.
Since no body was recovered, they left themselves the ability to bring Nick home without it looking too weird. So Joshua will return as he did sign the new 5 year contract.
Y&R has hired some new writers, including a head writer which explains some of the weird twists, character personality differences and disappearances of key actors and actresses.
If you don't like spoilers stop reading now!
They also stated that the real father of Summer is: Jack.
Hope this helps you sleep better, I know it helped me
Cyn
