The crew aboard underwent a terrifying experience when the metal cable used to catch the landing aircraft snapped and nearly landed a Navy plane in the sea.
The accident aboard the aircraft carrier USS Dwight D Eisenhower left eight sailors injured. A video of the crash has been released by the Navy that shows the steel cable stretched across the deck to slow the E-2C Hawkeye plane as the aircraft lands on the deck.
All of a sudden, the cable goes taut and snaps, breaking away from the tail hook of the plane. The plane continues to move down the deck as some of the crew rushes over to it until it disappears.
The rest of the sailors on the deck can be seen hurrying over to the eight people who were hit by the snapped cable.
The aircraft resurfaces in the video, as it had enough momentum to keep it flying.
The accident resulted in a fractured ankle, wrist, pelvis and legs. One of the sailors suffers from the skull and facial fractures while another is allegedly suffering from traumatic brain injury.
Navy investigators have blamed the accident on human error stating that the deck staff overlooked at least one or two ‘critical steps’ while operating the engine for the flight deck’s cables.
The pilots managed to return and safely land the undamaged Hawkeye at the Naval Station Norfolk. The airmen have been lauded for their ‘phenomenal airmanship’.
You can watch the entire episode in this video:
The injured were unlikely to be soldiers but sailors that were part of the dick crew. The deck of an aircraft carrier while launching and recovering aircraft is one of the most dangerous places on earth to work. It’s a tribute to the procedures, training, and dedication of the crews that more people are not hurt during flight operations.