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At least two guys are on the ball, at least one isn't...

Interesting. I presumed that aircraft landing on a carrier went to full throttle after touchdown for cases like this? Or is that for when the cable is missed completely?

mhodgson wrote:Interesting. I presumed that aircraft landing on a carrier went to full throttle after touchdown for cases like this? Or is that for when the cable is missed completely?

When an aircraft lands on a carrier it always goes to full throttle.

In case it

Misses the wire
Breaks the wire

In this case the Hornet didn't miss the wire. It was a normal engagement which decelerated the airplane to the point that lighting the burners would not have helped. So the pilot did what he was trained to do: yank the Loud Handle.

Well, the one guy certainly has hops. That's a dangerous thing to have happen.

You should be at full throttle until you’re sure the aircraft has come to basically full stop. I will admit, after a while, you could almost time cutting the throttle to idle as it just about stop. At night or after a shitty approach you will probably be at full throttle until you eyeballs un cage and see the “Yellow Shirt” waving frantically to close the throttle. If you stay at full power too long, the air boss will usually say something like “Okay son you’re aboard, you can close the throttle now.”

I did have a very good buddy I went through program with have the exact same thing happen in an F-14 during daylight. He realized it right away (with some coaching from the LSO) hit the after burners, and flew off the angle deck as he pulled the wire out. Fortunately, his RIO initiated the injection sequence as they were decelerating into the water. The RIO got one good swing in the chute, however Bill never separated from the seat. He bounced along the water. When it stopped, it started sinking like rock. When I saw Billy later, I asked him what it was like sinking….he said it was getting cold and dark very fast. He also said. You know the training we had in the “Dilbert Dunker” we thought was a waste of time years back. Well, it all came back, un strapping and pulling yourself away. It saved my ass. I saved the $64,000 question for last, asking him when he intended to punch out. He said NEVER…I had the burners lit, and I was moving the stick and rudders and going to fly that SOB out. Fortunately, I had an RIO with a lot more brains, otherwise I would be dead.

Great post. Welcome aboard.

Holy crap...excellent post sir...and like Miami said, welcome aboard.

Awesome contribution and the thought of it happening to me literally gave me chill bumps.

Was that less than a second for the eject decision?