It may seem routine for jets to depart from and arrive on the decks of aircraft carriers, as pilots are required to have years of practice and drilling. But on a recent mission aboard the USS Dwight D. Eisenhower, the pilot of a E-2C Hawkeye twin turboprop surveillance plane proves that landing on deck isn’t easy.
Keep an eye on the plane from 0:23 to 0:39.
The plane initially catches the number four wire, Business Insider explained, signaling the plane had made a good arrest. Then the wire snaps. The plane looks as if it’s about to dip into the sea before the pilot gets it under control.
The Virginian Pilot newspaper first obtained records of the incident that occurred on March 16, 2016 off the coast of the US state of Virginia. A probe found that the carrier’s arresting gear was incorrectly programmed, causing the wire to malfunction.
Eight sailors were injured during the snafu.
