Watch as an E-2C Hawkeye nearly crashes off a carrier deck
SUMMARY
It’s the kind of video that puts a lump in your throat.
But it’s also a crystal clear demonstration of the training that teaches Naval aviators to keep their cool.
In this incredible clip from the USS Eisenhower, a Navy E-2C Haw…
It's the kind of video that puts a lump in your throat.
But it's also a crystal clear demonstration of the training that teaches Naval aviators to keep their cool.
In this incredible clip from the USS Eisenhower, a Navy E-2C Hawkeye surveillance plane coasts into what seems like a textbook landing during a calm day at sea off the coast of Virginia.
As the Hawkeye traps the number four wire, it seems as if the plane made a good arrest. But while the twin turboprop airplane strains to a stop, the cable suddenly snaps, sending sailors on the flight deck scrambling and the plane plunging off the end of the flight deck. It takes a heart-stopping 6 seconds for the plane to pull out of the dive and into view above the line of the flight deck.
According to the Virginian Pilot newspaper which obtained the investigation report into the March 18 incident, the arresting gear was misprogrammed for the Hawkeye's landing, causing the cable to snap. While the aircrew landed the plane safely ashore, eight sailors were injured on the flight deck.
