What Happens When an Arresting Cable Breaks on US Aircraft Carriers?
We explore the dangerous and potentially catastrophic consequences that can occur when an arresting cable breaks on an US aircraft carrier. The arresting cable is a critical component of the ship's flight deck, designed to quickly slow down and stop aircraft that have just landed. When the cable snaps, it can cause significant damage to the aircraft, the flight deck, and even the ship itself.
In this in-depth analysis, we examine the various factors that can lead to cable failure, such as wear and tear, improper maintenance, and harsh weather conditions. We also explore the safety measures in place to prevent cable breakage and minimize the risks to aircraft, crew, and ship.
Whether you're a military aviation enthusiast or just interested in learning more about aircraft carriers and their inner workings, this video is a must-watch. With expert insights, stunning footage, and detailed animations, we bring you the full story of what happens when an arresting cable breaks on an US aircraft carrier. #aircraftcarrier #usnavy #sailors
aircraft carrier, arresting cable, flight deck, aircraft, US military, naval aviation, aviation safety, cable failure, naval technology.
Do you also have great respect for the men and women of the U.S. Navy? Especially the US Navy pilots who have to land on the flight deck. Then like this video to pay your respects and thank them for their service. Let us know if you've ever worked on the flight deck ⬇️💙
Thank you all for your Service 🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸
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GOD BE WITH YOU
Hey guy, Sailors like myself... We wouldn't change a thing, The US Navy Rocks and Rolls since days of old.
Blessings on each and every one of you..stay safe
Had 124 successful carrier landings from from 1989 to 1992. Never had a cable break, but, experienced several missed hooks due to weather and other factors. The first dozen takeoffs and landings on a carrier are terrifying, after that, its just routine stress and anxiety. Wouldn't have traded any of it for the world!
Same here.
As an aviator read about Eric "Winkle" Brown who has flown 487 different types of aircraft and, Brown holds the world record for the most aircraft carrier deck take-offs and landings performed (2,407 and 2,271 respectively) and achieved several "firsts" in naval aviation, including the first landings on an aircraft carrier of a twin-engined aircraft, an aircraft with a tricycle undercarriage, a jet aircraft, and a rotary-wing aircraft. Brown flew almost every category of Royal Navy and Royal Air Force aircraft: glider, fighter, bomber, airliner, amphibian, flying boat and helicopter. During the Second World War, he flew many types of captured German, Italian, and Japanese aircraft, including new jet and rocket aircraft. He was a pioneer of jet technology into the postwar era.
Have you ever wondered how many people around the world are envious of you? My dad was a pilot in the airforce. He never landed on a carrier, because our country doesn't have any. I always wanted to become like him and be a pilot. Unfortuneately, I got type 1 diabetes at the age of 16, so I couldn't become a pilot or even join the military. I thought of becoming a plane mechanic, but life threw some curveballs, you know how it is. I wish I could experience what you have, sir.
NAS Kingsville? FWS Air Traffic Control '83-90 there. Only comment about this video is how about Barrier Landings? Saw a few throughout my career. Take care shipmate.
@@lotuselise4432🤯
Enjoyed my 24 yrs onboard CVN 69, 75 and LHD-1. Retired 2 yrs ago and miss it a lot. Never thought I would say that. I was terrified of the flight deck. I worked inside the skin of the ship. Air Dept guys and ladies were always top notch. Godspeed to you all.
My father was on the HMCS Magnificent in the 50's. Canadian carrier. Some of the stories he told would raise your hair. One, they were thought lost in the Indian ocean in a hurricane with 90 foot seas. They lost comms and when they returned to port there was seaweed on the radar. I have many slides taken of them fishing sea fury's off the side of the deck. I have such admiration of all the people who serve, regardless of what branch of military. Thank you all for keeping us free
Worked six months on the flight deck of the Kennedy, CV 67, in 92/93. Saw an E2 Hawkeye crash after getting waved off for smoke in the cockpit(all 5 aircrew died). Saw a F-18 bolter 6 times as the tail hook wouldn’t lock and bounced every time, pilot had to land in Egypt. Saw another F18 land at night with the parking brake on, blew all the tires out. Watched an F14 almost get swallowed by a giant wave that broke over the bow just as the cat was shooting it off the end of the deck in heavy seas, still can’t believe he made it. Luckily never had an arresting cable break. Loved working on the flight deck, so glad i had the opportunity to do that.
We launched in an S-3A Viking with our brakes locked. Blew up both tires, ate several inches into the wheels, and we still got airborne. I only felt a couple of little shakes, didn't hear anything, but apparently the explosions were pretty loud. We landed back aboard, just a little more bumpy than usual.
I served in the USAF 1965-1969. I have the utmost respect for Navy pilots!! God bless our military and their families!
Larry, is that you of LTV fame circa 1970s?
My Dad served on the USS Roosevelt (first), the USS Carl Vinson, and the USS Nimitz in the 80s. He rose to Senior Chief and his squadron maintained the AWACS planes. My family got to go on a "Dependents cruise." I'm so proud of his service.
Quite a bit in awe of the design, preparation, and teamwork of the business of aircraft carriers. It is especially fantastic how few tragic events actually occur. Great job, US Navy.
As a Boilertech we provided steam to operate not only the ship but also the cats - proud to have served
Indeed we did.
I cannot image the rush you get taking off..thank you each and every one of you for your service. My brother was in the Navy however he was on a Missile Destroyer. Great respect for all of you! THANK YOU!
There is no backup arresting cable on an aircraft carrier. Most carriers have 4 cables where a couple have three. They do not repair a broken cable it is replaced.
You heard that too? "backup arresting cable" Makes you wonder if the presenter actually researched the subject matter.
Navy pilots are the best in the world. I was a fly 2 director on the USS INDEPENDENCE. 74-77
They have to be - there is such a little margin for error. One of my classmates from grade and high school became a Navy pilot, and was telling of his first carrier landing. He noted the carrie looked like a postage stamp when he was on final, and it still looked like a postage stamp when he landed. Top Gun and Maverick were tremendous fun, but the reality of landing on that deck is one of the greatest tests of skill of a pilot.
I have always admired the pilots on an air craft carrier as well as all the support staff. Thank each and every one of you as well as your families that share you with our nation!
Great to see this coverage of a very dangerous job which I had the honor of doing for a very long West Pac cruise many years ago. Hookrunner is a fun thing to do, but also quite dangerous. Those cables move quickly and if you're not careful they will knock you over or wrap around you and drag you down the deck in a very rough way. I'd rather be tackled and thrown around by a football team than a moving arresting cable (having been knocked down and dragged by one and surviving it). Thanks for sharing this.
Had a guy, HS6 have a power cord wrapped around his leg, and drug him to his death😢 Nother guy w/12 years, caught cranial rectumitis for a split second, and walk right into a running E-2. Sounded like running over a cigarette pack w/ a lawn mower. Forget their names, but my 1st day, 2 guys took me up, and said sink or swim...forever grateful.......
Red Shirt CVN 69 Theflight deck of a carrier is both the most exhilirating and dangerous place one can ever work. Even when I wasnt working Id go watch flight ops from the bridge. I often miss the sound and fury of that environment. When one considers that most of the people you see out there working are ages 19-24 you know you have the best of the best defending your country. From one vet to another Thankyou for your service.
I was lucky enough to TDY for 3 weeks on the Ike, and would do the same thing up on the bridge. Night flight Ops were really cool!
I was also on CVN 69 the last 4 years of my time in the Navy. I had planned to do 20 years and retire, but when I hit my 12th year in the 1990's they downsized the services, which ended up sending me home.
There is no back up cable at the end of the runway. No crosswind landings on a carrier. The ship turns into the wind for recoveries. In rough seas, the Landing Signals Officer adjusts the glideslope manually presented to the pilot to account for the pitching deck. The night A-6 barricade arrestment occurred on USS Ranger in 1987 and the deck was pitching up and down more than 40 ft (I was in a squadron aircraft on the flight deck at the time). The LSOs are well trained to overcome such issues. Uh, no detailed briefing from the tower. Everything is zip lip during the day. Uh, they are steam catapults not hydraulic catapults. The tower does not monitor the aircrafts control and decent, the Landing Signals Officer does that but only actively during night ops. Daytime recoveries are normally zip lip. The hook is dropped way in advance of final approach. If the aircraft bolters (ie, doesn't engage a wire) which can occur for a number of reasons, the pilot simply goes to max power and takes off again. That is why modern carriers have angle decks. The pilot is not congratulated on a safe and successful mission. They instead go to the dirty shirt wardroom for a slider and a cup of coffee (it doesn't get any better than that). The closing comments were accurate. Awesome photos and videos of carrier ops. It truly is a sight to see. This cannot begin to characterize the skill and courage of our Navy and USMC men and women and aviators who are the best in the world! Semper Fi.
Richard. Thank you for the corrections!
Was that Atlas with Bug on the platform?
What about back up arresting hook in tandem both are lower when other cable break the other arresting hook is engaged on the cable either one of the arresting hook or cable fail the other arresting hook is engaged in the cable.
@@benkollerman7944 there’s no backup tail hook
Right on all points. As a midshipman on the USS Midway in 1974, my bunk was under the number three wire. Night ops made it pretty difficult to sleep!
Lived in Florida 40 years ago. Knew a Navy Deck officer that used to take his legs of and set them on the bar.. cable broke, cut one leg off below the knee, the other above the knee. Hell of a nice guy in spite of what happened to him.
I saw a video of a cable that broke and one man on the deck jumped twice perfectly timed to avoid cable cutting his legs off. Second jump looked intuitive
Just who doesn't love our airmen? and our sailors you are remarkable people and thank you for protecting our country.
There maybe a few ungrateful scumbags out there, but I would Challenge them to enlist and serve, then see how you feel!!!
I was in VF-154. Attached to CAW 2. Our carrier was the USS Ranger. Two Vietnam war time cruises 1967-68 and 68-69. Tonkin Gulf yacht club. Also we went to the very cold Sea of Japan when the North Koreans took the USS Pueblo off the high seas in January 1968. Seeing the flight deck activities always brings back a lot of memories. I worked on the radar systems in the F-4B phantom and F-4J phantom. Spent quite a bit of time on the flight deck, mostly night ops as I worked 7pm to 7am. VF-154 Black Knights we were a tight group. Being war time cruises we had a lot of bombs and missiles being loaded. Many unreps. I can say this, the operations have not changed on the flight deck. Aircraft being launched and recovered. That is a constant. Fair winds and following seas to you all.
VF 121, 66-68 & HC 7 Det 110 69-70 Jet Mech, I was on Ranger for Christmas of 69 and again Feb 70 with the Helos. State side Carrier quals on Ranger Constellation Enterprise Kitty Hawk & Coral Sea many times on each except Coral sea. Navy Pilots are the best in the world. HC 7 pilots many rescues in Nam. Air crews awarded many awards for their bravery.
thank you for your service !
I was on the Coral Sea, CVA 43 , from June 66 - August 67 & worked with a guided missile designed to blow up the radar in Vietnam. Yes a lot of activity on the flight deck so everyone has to be very careful.
I was Ranger (CVA-61)....72-76 as a Qm....and had over 2000 hours on the helm...for Flight Ops, Un-Reps, Sea and Anchor , Man Overboard...and Crash and Smash.....Never a dull moment.....and yes.....What was that you said?.............these ops are demanding and much skill required for each task...Kudos to all.
F-4j still a badass aircraft
I was a flight deck troubleshooter with VFA-136 Knighthawks aboard the USS D. D. Eisenhower during the beginning of Desert Shield and the end of Desert Storm.
I used to know a guy 40 years ago who flew Navy A-4 fighter jets. He said it was 98% boring and 2% sheer terror.
Sounds like my sex life
I have respect, appreciation and thanks to all service men and women in all branches of the military not just the Navy. My father served in the Navy from 2951-55 on the battleship USS New Jersey and was a Seabee.
When the aircraft touches down on the deck he automatically pushes the throttles to full power whether he grabs the arresting cable or not. If he misses the cable or it brakes he has enough power to fly back off the deck. I was on the carrier USS Constellation in the 70's as a plane captain and we had 4 arresting wires. The last wire ( #4 ) was not an "emergency cable", it was just #4. I never heard it called an emergency cable. The arresting cable was changed after a certain number of landings on that wire as a safety measure, worn or not. Aircraft were "bingo'd" back to land if he was in range of a landing field if he could not extend his hook. The cable was always a danger to us and you always kept an eye out for it during landings. It did not help if you worked night shift on the "roof". It did not have to brake to kill you. P.S. Pilots would place beer bets on what wire the pilot would grab on landing. Catching the # 4 wire cost you a case of beer to the other pilots ! You always shot for # 3.
Thank you for your Service Sir 🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸
Thank you correcting this video with its nonsense of oh they have to stop quick if the cable breaks sigh
If the pilot follows the amber light all the way in he will catch the 3rd wire everytimes. They are all trained to go full throttle or full Afterburner when the hit the deck no matter what. Most of the time if they miss the wires there is just enough room left to get them airborne again. We had an airforce pilot who boltered 9 times. They sent him to the bingo in San Clemente Island to refuel and collect himself. Came back and boltered 2 more times and they sent him back to Miramar. About a month later he was out to Yuma for gunnery for 2 weeks and on the way home ran into a mountain. I never heard what happened to cause the crash. I can tell you one thing Night ops in a war zone is damn dangerous. If you get blown over the side the plane guard will never find you. Guaranteed the sea snakes or sharks will.
My brother was on the Connie in the early '70's. Was Yeoman for the flight squadron, was closest he got to the flight deck. Maybe you knew him?
@@broadcasttttable I’m sorry I don’t
I served aboard USS NIMITZ, catapult #2 84-88, seen a lot of stuff happen of the flight deck especially at night. Loved doing the job, takes a special bread of men and women to do it.
Thank you for your Service Sir 🇺🇸🇺🇸
I was on a gator freighter so i cant relate to cats and arresting gear.
Thank you for your service and work in very very dangerous job! I was an RD2 ( now OS2 ) 1966-1970 on USS Columbus CG 12. 3-6 month deployments to Med and 6th fleet.
Thank you all for your service to our country!!! Be kind to one another. Stay safe. Love to all
Was aboard U.S.S. Nimitz for Med Cruise 1981-1982. We had a crash of an EA-6B on the flight deck off of Mayport, Florida destroying several other aircraft and killing 14 people. 78 were so severely burned they had to be medevac'd to shore. We had the first deployment of the great F-14 Tomcat in the med and Ronald Reagan told Mohamar Khaddafi that he didn't control as much of the Mediteranean Sea as he thought and so we proceeded to shoot down 2 of his fighter jets with the then new tomcat combat air patrol. America 2, Libya 0.
Ahoy shipmate! OPS/OE 82-86 Was on board for the hijacking of the TWA 847 and the Achille Lauro. Served with several who were aboard for the event.
My sincere condolences
I served on the Midway ( 73-75 ) in V-2 Div . I worked arresting gear and we never had a broken cable , but did use the barricade once . ABE -2 Bittick.
I worked on the flight deck and absolutely Controlled Chaos is always present. Still liked to watch flight ops from the Crow's Nest at night. Would do it all again 10/10.
I was in VF- 51 screaming eagles in the early eighties, they used our F-14s in the movie top gun. Served on the U.S.S. CARL VINSON back then. One of the biggest fears as a deck ape back then was the possible breakage of a cable during aircraft recovery. It was the most dangerous job I ever had.
That was my ship, same era, with VS-29. I made the ship's second and third cruises. If you were on one or both, you'll remember that we lost two Tomcats with no loss of life. I don't know if either or both were from VF-51. Neil Armstrong flew with VF-51 during the Korean War. Scott Altman was in VF-51 and you may have been there at the same time. He was the pilot that flipped the bird while inverted in Top Gun, and he later became a space shuttle commander. One airwing flight surgeon, David Brown, later became an A-6 pilot and ultimately became an astronaut. Sadly, his one and only flight was on the Columbia space shuttle when it broke apart on reentry.
@@davidabarak good to hear from you. We were on the second cruise together and maybe crossed paths sometime or so. I remember our sister squadron, V.F.-111 lost a tomcat at night back then. The story I heard is they lost navigation and flew it into the sea. We didn't lose any aircraft that I can remember. They filmed the movie top gun when I was stationed at miramar from 1983 to 1986. I used to get work orders to partially disarm ejection seats so hollywood could get up in the cockpit and not blow themselves up!
@@jamestravenetti7970 Of the Tomcat losses I remember (maybe both were VF-111), I believe one was a hydraulic problem (I think the XO was the RIO, and he was supposedly determined to fly again the same day), and I think the other was a flat spin. I saw the pilot from that one the next day. Imagine this - in a flat spin, the pilot is sitting near the end of a centrifuge, facing out. As a result, blood wants to go out away from the center of the spin, and if that blood is in your eyes, the whites of your get massively, spookily, completely red. I thought he was the devil. 😁 That must have been a fun time at Miramar because of the fame the movie brought.
@@davidabarak yeah, it's hard to remember all the details after all these years. By the way I do remember lieutenant Altman, he had a great sense of humor as I recall. A lot of the pilots and rios I worked with have they're names in the credits at the end of the movie. I rember one pilot coming back from a sortie in the phillipines whose air conditioning went out mid flight. He finished the sortie anyway, comes sauntering in from the flight line drenched in sweat like he just jumped in a pool. He says, "hell of a machine, man, hell of a machine". Never a complaint, these guys were tough as nails.
I served on the JFK as a AE between 1975 and 1979. While it was a little scarry being on the flight deck it was also the best experiance of my life time. I especially loved being on the flight deck At night when we wernt flying . I would lay on the deck, looking up at the night sky with millions of stars and hearing the ocean waves. What a great experiance. The world is different today and I wish all the sailors of the Navy to be alert, safe and also enjoy your down time when you can. One day you will e me looking back too.
Thank you for your Service Sir 🇺🇸
Joseph. I also was on the JFK about the same times. VAW125. I was an AT and also enjoyed the flight deck work. Lots of scary times also but would do it again if I wasn't so old...LOL
I was an AE, started out on shore duty at NAS Lemoore, CA with VA-127 and went to CV-19 on her last deployment in 1975 before getting scrapped, with VA-164. Then to CV-43 in 1977 with VA-22. The last 5 months of that deployment, I got marooned to the mess decks as an MDMAA. I discovered how comfortable the nose tow bar could be.
@@davekisor1486 Dave… what is MDMAA? You sure have seen lots of ships. Good experience for sure but tough on friendships.
@@njjeff201, MDMAA is a Mess Deck Master At Arms. They're there to make sure everything stays clean and sanitary.
The most exciting time of my life was when I worked on the flight deck. FLY-3 PO USS America CV-66
Good video and info. I was a plane captain in a RA5C Vigilante squadron (RVAH-12) in the mid 70s. The flight deck is a wild place to work, especially at night and throw in some bad weather. Navy pilots are the best to handle all that.
Thank you Sir for your service from an Air Force vet!
Worked on flight deck USS Enterprise Arresting Gear mid 1970 s. Hook runner, deck edge operator and topside petty officer. Also USS Midway topside p.o. late 70's early 80's . Loved the rush of it all
I was on the Midway from ‘73 to ‘75 . Sailed on her from Alameda to Yokosuka , it’s new home port . I operated the number two wire . Never had a wire break , but we did have a “ two block “ with an A-6 . I wasn’t operating the weight settings that day . The pilots of said bird came into the engine room compartment and read the E-4 the riot act . Anyway my time in service was not bad . I almost “ shipped over “ but they declined my request to serve on the Nimitz . I guess making E-5 in three years did not carry any weight . ABE -2 Bittick.
@@wesbittick5468 during Indian ocean cruise ( gonzo station ) #2 engine went down due to CRO valve bolt failure contamination to entire hydraulic system. I was maintenance po along with my 4 man crew had the engine back up 48 hrs later after total disassembly and reassembly o f same.. a week long process in port. Had a personal conversation with Capt. " Hoagie " Carmichael when he asked what I needed..keep all officers ,pilots non essential people out of my way.. he posted Master at arms at engine room doors. Later recieve a letter of accomodation. Very proud of that accomplishment
@@davidgatwood3875 You should be . That was an exceptional accomplishment . Also it is amazing how much more we can get accomplished without having distractions . We had an E-9 over the division that could get anything done in or out of port . Unfortunately we had an arrogant O-4 in command of the division that hated Chief “ Ski “. There were times when equipment needed attention and Ski would ask the O-4 to shut down to repair , he would get a stern “ no “ . So Chief would call the Capt. and guess who would win ? The only true thing the division officer could never get through his head was the fact Chief Ski didn’t make E-9 by being stupid . Thanks for your service .🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸 .
Our A/G officer was ex P-3 pilot..on his first sea duty. He was always around... always asking questions... Wanting to know how,what and why. I think he respected my knowledge and soaked it up. I respected him for that and always having our backs.. which we needed because v-2 division officer was a real " no load ". Was also on board when we were hit by Panamanian freighter in straights of Malaca. Google Midway collision to see the damage. We manned fire hoses on flight deck..in case of fire. Thank you as well for your service. ABE-2 Gatwood
Hi Dave......I served with you on the Big E. What happened to Buckolz? Probably went back to Montana. Anyway .....be safe.....ABE 3. Russ Gammon
In the 70's I saw (while in the Navy) a cable break flying out of control and cutting a man in half.!
Having been on a "Tiger Cruise" aboard the USS America with my Marine son, I have the greatest respect and gratitude for the dangerous work the crew performs. God Bless them, and God Bless America.
@@norbertofontanez5550 Actually no, USS America (CV 66) was a Kitty Hawk class carrier, USS Coral Sea (CV 43) was a Midway class ship and much older and smaller than the America. I was homeported in Norfolk VA in destroyer USS Caron (DD 970.) I became familiar with the appearance of most East Coast carriers as one of the duties we pulled on a regular basis was to follow a carrier while they were conducting flight operations, our purpose was to act as the "Plane Guard" destroyer, to be ready to pick the crew of a crashed plane from the water if the plane suffered either a catapult failure or broken arrestor cable and ended up in the water. That said, the one and only aircraft crash we responded to was a Marine Corps helicopter gunship crashing almost alongside us in the middle of the night. Our watch standers reacted immediately and we picked up one of the two man crew who was able to get out of the bird before it sank. The pilot was found still in his seat several days later when divers located the chopper. We also picked up a Coral Sea crewman who went overboard. He was returned to the carrier by helo, safe and sound.
Bless our Vets Love you guys. 🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸
I was on a Nuclear cruiser, Virginia class in battle group foxtrot! ⚓'s Away salute!!!
Aweigh, shipmate.
God Bless our Men and Woman in Service at home and abroad! Thank you from the bottom of my heart. God Bless America! The Land We Should all Love!
I was on the USS America in the Mediterranean Sea when I had to leave due to family emergency. I was loaded onto a C-2 and seated facing the tail. A crewman gave the cue to us that we're launching. I tried to look out the portal to see how fast we were leaving the flight deck. No way! As soon as the cat activated, I was slammed out of my seat with only the straps keeping me in. All I could see was the back of the seat in front of me. Roller coasters have nothing on this. This was in 1978.
Thank You for your service gentlemen.
Excellent video! I really have to admire pilots who can land on a carrier. It seems to me that actually snagging the cable with the hook when you can't actually see the hook is very difficult. And yet, they do this all the time. Much respect for these pilots!
As the pilot approaches the carrier he see a light system with Green Amber and Red lights. If he is too high and too fast he sees the green, If he is too low & to slow he see the Red light. The Trick is to follow the Amber light all the way down and he will catch the 3 wire every time. Hope that makes sense.
@@WaltEagles24 That's right, Walt. I remember a red lens (or in earlier times, a red-colored part of the mirror system) and the glide slope being amber, but not a green light for high. I do recall green datum lights to show where the center of the system is as a reference.
On one hand, I could say the process to do that, even without seeing the cable, is fairly simple, and that would be a true statement. On the other hand, I could say the process of doing that is _extremely_ difficult, and that would also be a true statement. Simple but difficult.
@@WaltEagles24 Close, but not quite right. If the pilot is too high (above glideslope), just right (on glideslope) or somewhat low (below glideslope), the pilot will see an amber light. If the light is between the set of horizontal green lights, then it's on glideslope. If the airplane gets dangerously below glideslope the red light at the bottom will be visible. There are other red lights - the wave off and cut lights. The wave off lights are flashed along with a radio call from the LSO to add power, pull up, and go around for another try in a few minutes. (I keep forgetting what the cut lights are for. They used to be used when the Navy used gasoline-powered propeller airplanes; the LSO would flash the cut lights to signal the pilot to come all the way off the power for the final short drop to the flight deck. Because of the rapid response of gasoline engines, going to full power when the tires hit the deck wasn't nearly as important as with fast jets with engines that are relatively slow to react.)
@@WaltEagles24 call the ball
The pilot does NOT have to unbuckle or open the canopy to eject. The harness keeps the pilot in his seat during ejection, and the canopy automatically is jettisoned in the ejection sequence.
They are probably researching using wikipedia. 🙄
July 19, 1963. USS Constellation lost a cable. The crew lost many legs. Also the crew of the F4 from VF143. Was not something you can ever forget.
I remember when this happen. I was stationed at El Toro with VMFA314 a F4B Phantom Squadron.
Good video. Thumbs-up for that. Lots of errors, though, like erroneous nomenclature, a back-up arresting cable at the bow, lowering the hook on final, crosswind landings on a carrier, and the catapult being hydraulic.
Not to mention showing stock footage of F16s and a twin Beechcraft (under the water) as reprsentative of carrier operations.
I was the hook runner on the FDR CVA 42 back in 61. It was an experience to say the least. Back then there was no hazardous duty pay.
Hazpay was authorized about halfway through our 11 month combat cruise aboard your sister ship, the Coral Maru in '65. IIRC it amounted to about $5/month for this E-5. With 30 to 50 day at-sea periods there was no place to spend it anyway... until we got to Olongapo, Yokosuka or Hong Kong.
Best place on the planet to learn to concentrate on your surroundings, I still don't walk backward anywhere. Did the Saratoga, America, Forrestal and Nimitz. GO NAVY !!!
Saw a director walk backwards and stepped back down into the lift well!! (UK carriers never had safety barriers around the lift when in up and down operation.), I still don't walk backwards either!
I'm with you, chief. The successful "Roof Rat" will already have a handle on knowing what's going on around them, and the ones you want to keep are those willing to look out for the FNGs. Head on a swivel, grab a padeye if you have to.
Exceptionally well done video. Very informative and detailed with great footage to back up the narration. Thanks!
Thanks for your service. Gary (HT2 1975-1981)
I worked on the flight deck of the USS Lexington back in 1974 during a "boat detachment" from my home base in south Texas. We were flown from our base to Pensacola, Florida where we got on the ship. It cruised out into the gulf of mexico where pilots were getting a first hand taste of taking off and landing on the carrier. The Lexington at that time was a training ship and pilots were there to get their hours in for take offs and landings. Some were already experienced and some were not. I worked on the deck as a green shirt though I was primarily a plane captain. Being 20 years old and getting my first taste of carrier life and working on the deck was an experience I will not forget. After the training mission was over, our crew was flown off of the carrier in a C2 Greyhound and taken back to our base. It was a lot of work being on the deck, not knowing very much about the procedures or much of anything else that was going on. But, we and I were always aware of my surroundings and always had to be aware of getting blown off the deck by jet blasts. It was quite an experience and wish I had taken photos back then as a memory of that time, but I did get photos later when I went flying in the back seat of the A4 Skyhawks I worked on. At least I have that and that too I'll not soon forget.
I CARQUALED with the S2F, on the Lexington in 1964
Being a plane captain on an A3B Skywarrior for 2 cruises (Vietnam era), I was fortunate enough to be able to fly 4th. seat on 16 cat shots and arrested landings. Being I was only 19 and 20 years old at the time, this was an amazing experience that only a small number of enlisted are fortunate enough to do. My first flight recovery was at night and man, did that flight deck ever look small as we approached in the dark! After the first couple flights, any nervousness I might have had soon disappeared. I was around many A4's and knew several shipmates that worked on them in the carrier attached squadrons. The A4 trainers were the only ones with 2 seats made, but of course they weren't carrier based on cruises.
Scary awesomeness! Thank you all for your service. Anchors Away!
I worked on flight deck in arresting gear 3 or 4 wires if a cable breaks they clear cable from landing area Resume flight ops depending on which wire is broke if a cable breaks it will require at least 12 hours to replace and that's is on a good day and plus anything else for damage to the equipment below decks
Med cruise, 1974 USS America (CVA-66) A-3 whale broke the arresting gear. Aircraft crew survived but lost close friends from V- 2 division. When the arresting gear broke , wire whipped through the flight deck cutting a shipmate in half.
NOT landing a "full speed" it's "full power" - BIG difference JR
It boggles the mind to think of how aircraft carrier personnel and pilots can be so well trained and so proficient at their jobs in such a relatively short amount of time.
Brings back memories from 1979 - 1990
I do have the utmost respect for the pilots of the navy but also for the airforce..bc they perform tasks ,heavy as they are, under very difficult situations "to keep the free world safe " I do have respect!!!!! And many thanks for your service!!!!
One thing that always amazes me is that military pilots don't need to just know the basics of aviation, they need to know: they need to know the ins and outs of the airplane in great detail (how high far can go with X number of pounds of fuel and X number of pounds of weapons, at a certain airspeed and altitude, how to troubleshoot problems and how to handle emergencies) they need to know the details of the weapons they carry they need to know the details of the complex sensor and weapons systems that are a part of the airplane they need to know military aviation tactics - dogfighting, ground attack, etc. they need to know the unique military air traffic control procedures (especially in carrier aviation), they need to know to some degree how the other services operate (like when supporting ground troops) they need to know how enemy forces operate they need to know about enemy weapons (surface-to-air missiles, air-to-air missiles, etc.) they need to know the capabilities of enemy aircraft they need to (obviously) know how their branch of the service operates - ranks, etc. they need to know how to manage people they need to be able to pick up secondary (collateral) duties fairly quickly (personnel officer, for instance) And they generally need to know a lot of this stuff in the roughly two to two-and-a-half years they spend in training before they're ready for combat.
Watching this video brought back memories of my 12 years of service in the Navy. My two sea tours were on 2 different aircraft carriers.....the USS Coral Sea and the USS Dwight D. Eisenhour, so I am very familiar with how aircraft carriers operate. i spent my 4 years of shore duty in Milton, FL, which isn't too far from Pensacola, FL. While I never worked on the flight deck, I did stand deck watches which at times put me above the flight deck itself.
USS Kennedy Med Cruise 1974 - U.S. Marine Aviator 1972 - 1978
Worked the flight deck as a Flight deck coordinator with Squadron VA-34 Blue Blasters 1979-1981. Hit the net one time!
I was stationed on the USS Hancock CVA-19 from 67-70 out of Alameda Calf. Was in First Div. ( Deck force )for about six months then transfused to Communications Div. This gave me the opportunity to become a qualified Helmsmen for flight ops. among other duties. Three tours in the Gulf of Tonkin off Vietnam. On my off time of mostly (12 on 12 off) I would watch Flight Ops. From the island structure in awe in the skills of the flight crews and the pilots. But all had a job on board to keep our floating city and airport afloat and safe. For me nobody could buy a life experience like ours. My honor to have survey beside you in a common goal. God Bless 🇺🇸 ⚓️ 🔱 🇺🇸
I worked in the Boiler Room didn't get to see much was going up on the flight deck
@@peteleadlove9215 But what would we do without snipes? Hey, they have a tough job!
The basics of flight deck operation have not changes in 60 years. I worked on the decks of Saratoga and Ranger in the late 60's and early 70's and what I saw is more like today then like it was only 15 years before I was there. It is a very dangerous place to work a 12 hour day in tight spaces, with jet blast, movement of aircraft, fueling, ordnance loading and aircraft maintenance going on at the same time to meet a tight flight schedule. Ranger lost a RA5C and crew to a broken tail hook and a C2A an all on board to a cat shot. My hat is off to anyone who worked the flight deck be they ships company or air wing. GO NAVY.
I was on the Sara in '79 & '80. Our CO in '80 was the pilot who landed and took off from the Forrestal in a C-130. He made his 1,500th arrested landing while we were in the Med.
Agree. I was on the FD of HMS Eagle in the 1950s with jets and prop aircraft.......jets up ford and props down aft...dangerous? I should co-co! had a few cable breaks and a few cold cats and one propjet(Wyvern) into the funnel!🙄🙄
Always. My dad was a navy corpsman and my cousin was a platoon leader in the marines
We had a cable seperation on Kitty Hawk with VAQ -136 at night in 2006. Aircraft was able to bolter. Cable released and lacerated 2 legs of a136 maintainer standing behind the fowl line. He lost one leg above and the other below the knee. Since the accident happened at night without the "Opera Light" coming up, it took a while to realize the situation on deck beyond the inital cable separation.
Served aboard the Oriskany on West Pac cruise in 1970-71, a once in a life time experience and teamwork learning.
The "O" boat!!
Generally they go around and use a different cable when landing the second time, bailing out of a fighter generally involves pulling the primary or secondary ejection handles
Waow! It was interesting and informative. Thanks for the upload. Cheers from Hungary.
USS Saratoga 73-76 this was a good video ...carriers are a crazy place to live .....
thanks for your service
WOW, that's scary VIDEO! I'm assuming the cable is checked very regularly! Thanks. John P.
Absolutely amazing skills second to none
One nit, the catapult is not hydraulically powered; they are steam powered except for the newest launch system which is the Electromagnetic Aircraft Launch System (EMALS) by General Atomics which uses uses a Electo-magnetic system just like the name implies.
You caught that also .
Not a sailor but that bugged me as well.
@@Baza1964 Hydraulic cats preceded steam cats, USS Wasp had them, I know that for sure.
@@jccoenen7875 your right , I watched a doco on USS Enterprise, she had them as well
@@Baza1964 When I was on the Enterprise they were steam, CVN-65, maybe the WWII Enterprise was hydraulic but all the nukes CVN's are steam except the new ones with emals and not real impressed with those. Sent a year working flight deck Enterprise and 5 yrs flight deck USS Kitty Hawk the best command of my career.
I worked in the tower, on the Fresnel Lens. In 1982, after one year in the yards, we were on work ups. The very first plane we were recovering snapped the arresting gear and consequently took a photographer's foot off. The poor kid had JUST stepped out on the deck.
Landing on a Carrier Deck is the most difficult challenge for a Pilot. I have greatest respect for those Navy Pilots, really heroes!
Thanks to the AB's working 18-20 days, plus enduring the harshest elements known to man, little sleep or time to eat. Flight deck ops keep going. Thank you for all the hard work and sacrifice.
@@traceyfleger7950 God is good, God is great, God is an Aviation Bos'n Mate
I was on the USS Lexington in the 60's. An A-4 which is a small jet had landed followed by an A6a which is much bigger. They forgot to reset the cable for a the larger A-6 and it ran the cable to the end but it did not break. I asked the pilot how it felt and he said it was a really hard stop. The plane had to be taken to the Grumman factory to have it x-rayed for damage.
That must have been scary
They are absolutely amazing.
I could watch this all day! 😎👍🏻
He didn't mention as the touch down on the deck they hit full throttle in case they miss the cables and if they brake they can cut a person in two or loss a limb
Used to work with dude many years ago who was on a carrier. I don't remember the stories he told me, but I do remember him telling me it was very dangerous and a bit scary on the flight deck. Can't imagine the number of training hours to know how to conduct yourself if you want to be safe.
I am veteran of 6 years with the Air Force, I salute all of my brothers and sisters in uniform. Our jobs were different, theirs dangerous and deadly the same with mine around nuclear weapons, if they go off the entire world will know it!
We served onboard Ma MIDWAY together I'm in touch with about 20 of the crew from Arresting gear
Helped make a couple of these for the Enterprise. Swage fittings on both ends. Pretty hard to break.
Worked the flight deck , Intrepid ,and Saratoga..1970 / 1972…good video , but you can’t get the stress or chaos that can happen if you’re not there . Usually on a missed cable the pilot is reasonably safe….the broken cable is a serious problem for the deck crew .
Yellowshirt. Fly 3. USS Saratoga. Lead on landing operations. Glad they showed a bit of rain ... but it wasn't raining, at night, in the North Atlantic
Imagine being HIT by one of those steel cables. Looks more dangerous being on the deck of a carrier than landing on one.
I did a west pack cruise on the America ! After we were done on yankee station we did around the world cruise! Went from subic bay to Australia and NZ then around South America another stop in Rio and the back to Norfolk! I stayed on the ship just so I could do this cruise!
I was on the enterprise tiger cruise 1999 awesome adventure
Wonderful nostalgic video for me, after many years on carrier flight decks. One correction, though, carriers haven't use hydraulic catapults in many decades. Catapults are steam powered, not hydraulic.
I never saw any cables break but I have been there when there was a cold cat on two different times. First time was scary because it was at pitch black dark with no moon and the pilots ejected and it looked like the 4th of July when those squibs went off, one pilot landed in the water and the SAR helo got him and the other pilot came down and was injured bad because his chute caught the life rafts and slammed him into the side of the ship. They got him up and there was blood all over him, he was flown off the ship ASAP. The Tomcat was history, it went down in over 13,000 feet of water.
Holy shit!! But Thank you for your Service Sir 🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸
Off of Nam if you went into the water your life expectancy was 5-10 mins because of the sea snakes and sharks. Big damn sharks too.
@@WaltEagles24 I hate sea snakes, the Persian Gulf is full of them also, you can look over the side of the ship and see them in the water.
That Carrier was moving pretty slow for recovery ops of aircraft airborne. That changed the relative speed and to a small degree, contributed to this loss. We lost an f16 in the Mediterranean Sea, while I watched from our escort Destroyer at starboard Quarter to the flight deck. Blown left landing gear and broken tail hook ended very badly.
I'm a ABH from the gator Navy(LHA-3) and i know that you dont REPAIR a cable, you REPLACE it. 🤦🏾♂🤦🏾♂
Think the pilot landing is also looking at some lights. No cross winds. I question the information, but love the clips 🙂😎👍
Great Video well done YVMA Productions. I have always had great respect for the American armed forces of all branches.
When I watched this I couldn't believe the sloppy safety procedures. When in 1971 I was on board 3 Aircraft Carriers no one was allowed to be out in front of the ground support equipment and I see several flight deck crewman were injured by the arresting cable boke. Has the new navy gotten so sloppy?
Was on Midway CV-41, USS Franlkin D. Rosoevelt CV-42, USS Forrestal, CV-59, USS John F Kennedy, CV-67, and USS America CV-66. Sadly I saw just about every type of flight deck emergency that could happen - cable break, cold cat, hit the round down, flame out, exploding at the end of the cat shot, and deck crew being injected by the engines (2 A-7s, 1 A-6, 1 F14). With all that, we did thousands of shots and traps without any problems. My advice to YEMA Productions is that you research your terminology and some facts such as - cross winds - no such thing on a flight deck that is putting 30 knots of wind down the deck. The only place the aircraft might experience cross winds is on final but the ship does it's best to make sure that doesn't happen. That's one of the reasons the LSO's check the flags on the mast.
Didn't understand the cross winds, the ship is not a runway on land, it literally can turn so there is no danger to the planes from cross winds.
On the Saratoga in the summer of '80, we had a bridle on a Phantom to break during launch. Pieces of the bridle flew up and FOD'd the engine, and the shuttle for the cat went through the water brake and embedded itself in the bow. I was in our shop in AIMD on the 02 level when it happened. It felt like the whole bow exploded. The pilot & RIO punched out and were picked up with no injuries. We spent 2 weeks in Naples while they repaired the cat. We spent a total of 49 days in Naples during that cruise.
Being in fighter squadron VF154 Black Knights, and serving on the USS Ranger for two Westpac cruises in the late 60’s, a Cartier always turns onto the wind during launch and recovery. I believe the carrier wants to have 35mph headwind for launch and recovery.
I can only imagine that's a grim sight, a person being ingested into an engine....
I've seen a KZhead video showing a car literally take off from the road when it got entangled in a stray telecom cable. These have now become weapons on roads and in the domestic setup. Saw the term 'arresting the cable' and mistook it for the telecom cable.
Wait what ? The catapult are not hydraulic , they are steam that's why you of course see the steam coming up during and after the jet takes off
Thank you all who are serving and thank you all who have served!!
Windy and lots of ignorance about the procedures. I was on the USS Shangri-La 1961-2. Did almost a month on the starboard blast deflector while my clearance caught up with me during car-quals. Then worked with aviators for mission planning. Had occasion to observe flight ops on a regular basis from various vantage points. You people got some right, Some wrong, and some close.
Great sight to see the Radom plane comes back up after what semed like an sad situation
I Served aboard the USS Saratoga CV60. Awesome Experience. Communication Petty Officer .
God Bless every Sailor
This goes back over 50 years now, but during a launch of S-2E Trackers from the USS Randolph, the exercise called for deck launches (catapult not used). My roommate (both single, shared an apartment in Norfolk) was in the right seat during the launch. We were able to do this but it required a lot of deck space, and the procedure was to start the roll up the angle deck and then turn slightly abeam the island to go off the front of the deck. As they made the turn, the starboard (right) engine blew a cylinder and lost all power. Situation was now critical. There was not enough room to stop, and with only the one engine, barely enough power to complete the take off. No ejection seats in the S-2. The procedures called for jettison what ordinance they could (all 32 sonobouys by holding down the button and rotating the dial) and starting to dump fuel (dumping avgas on the flight deck caused other issues). As they dribbled off the flight deck with barely enough airspeed, they immediately raised the gear and the training of flying an aircraft at barely above stall speed came in handy (we were in that mode on the glide slope to landing). The got altitude, and then the next issue - they had to make a single engine approach as the divert fields were too far away (remember they had to dump fuel to fly with reduced weight). But they did make it and kept the airspeed up a slight amount to give extra comfort if they missed all the wires.
at 2:53 ...... "unbuckle their harness and jump out of the aircraft" .... What? Those pilots are NOT jumping out, they are being blasted out by a powerful rocket seat !!