In March this year, a Navy E-2C Hawkeye early warning aircraft was landing on the aircraft carrier USS Dwight D. Eisenhower when an arresting cable snapped. This flight-deck video is silent, so don't adjust your volume controls. Watch it in full-screen mode for best results.
I bet the flight crew had to change their underwear after that . . .
Peter
11 comments:
That's called a "bolter" and is the reason you are at full military power when you try to catch a wire. You need enough muscle to get back in the air rather than take a swim.
Good thing that flight deck is near 90 feet above the water...
@Rusty,
a 'normal' bolter is when you miss the cable. In this case they caught the cable and slowed almost to a stop, then the cable broke and they rolled off the front of the ship.
Somewhere Jimmy Doolittle is smiling.
The flight crew, the deck crew, the guys reviewing the film, every pilot shown, the Admiral, geeks on the internet...
A giant mass collective shorts dirtying moment.
Wow.
And the fact that they were able to pull up after being retarded by the cable is just amazing.
Nice save by the pilots. That's an expensive aircraft to lose.
This just brought to mind an idea I hadn't considered before. What happens when your arresting hook breaks? You can get back in the air, but next time around, there's "no stop."
If the arresting hook breaks, it's the net the next time around. That's expensive too.
It's a wonder that no one on deck was killed by the flying cable. Note the guy at the end of the video jumping to miss the cable.
Depending on where they are, they can make a landing on a base to get the arresting hook fixed.
I almost messed my shorts just watching the video...
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