Hornet Snaps Arresting Cable, Sends Deck Crew Flying

Hornet Snaps Arresting Cable, Sends Deck Crew Flying | World War Wings Videos

That’s Some Scary Stuff.

Naval aviators have a truly difficult job. Not only are they flying jets faster than the speed of sound over undistinguishable waters, they also have to land on that “stamp in the middle of the ocean.”

We’ve always revered them and showed you many different videos of carrier landings, but we never seem to pay our respects to the sailors working on the decks. Without them, our jets would never get to fly. They put order in the chaos that is a carrier deck, making sure that everything goes smoothly. Sometimes however, things don’t go as planned and you realize how dangerous that place really is.

A follow up investigation concluded the incident happened because of a mechanical malfunction of the arresting engine.

Back in 2003, an F/A-18 aviator was conducting carrier qualifications onboard USS George Washington off the coast of Virginia . Sailors said it was a day like any other as they’ve done these drills hundreds of times. This day would be different however.

As the Hornet come in to land, it snagged the wire like it was supposed to. Towards the end of the deck, it snapped however, sending the strained wire whipping around the deck at 100 mph. Somehow, this was all caught on camera.

Take notice at 47 seconds in though. That yellow shirt had eyes in the back of his head which probably saved his life.

Watch the video for the whole story.

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