When an arresting cable snapped aboard the USS Dwight D. Eisenhower in 2016, a Hawkeye dropped toward the Atlantic before climbing out in dramatic fashion.
Back in 2016, you may remember the PLAT (Pilot’s Landing Aid Television) video that seemed to be everywhere. Unless you were living under a rock without WiFi, it was hard to miss. The footage showed an E-2C NP Hawkeye barely making it off the deck after an arresting cable parted aboard the carrier USS Dwight D. Eisenhower (CVN-69) back on Friday, 18 March 2016.
In the now infamous clip, the Hawkeye rolled off the angle looking like it did not have nearly enough airspeed to stay airborne. For a split second, it appeared the Hummer was destined for the drink. Instead, the pilot coaxed every ounce of performance out of the aircraft and kept it flying. Credit where it is due. That was some serious airmanship.
Here is the video of the mishap, a carefully chosen word in this case, uploaded to YouTube by The Virginian-Pilot. But as dramatic as the footage is, there was far more going on behind the scenes. Stick around for more…
At the time, the Ike was conducting workups prior to their 2016 Mediterranean Deployment off the Virginia coast. Carrier Airborne Early Warning Squadron ONE TWO THREE (VAW-123) Screwtops was one of the squadrons making up Carrier Air Wing THREE (CVW-3). CVW-3 was preparing for their first deployment aboard Ike in quite a while. The carrier had completed an extensive overhaul and returned to sea in September 2015.
At 1352, a VAW-123 Hawkeye, side number 602, piloted by Lieutenant Matthew “Noodle” Halliwell with Lieutenant Commander Kellen Smith in the right seat and NFO Lieutenant Commander Thomas Browning also aboard, entered the break and prepared to trap aboard the Ike. “Noodle” called the ball and got lined up.
The approach wasn’t exactly textbook, with the Hummer settling a bit in close, but the aircraft’s tailhook still caught the number 4 cross-deck pendant. During the runout of the arresting cable, something that hadn’t happened aboard a US Navy aircraft carrier since 2005 did — the arresting cable parted. As snapped arresting cables are wont to do, the 1.5-inch wide cable whipped around the deck, injuring several crew members working on the roof.
By all appearances, the Hawkeye was done for. Those who have seen similar footage of or witnessed aircraft dribbling off the forward end of the angle after a hook failure or partial arrestment surely expected a large splash to mark the watery demise of the Hummer. During a deep settle to an estimated altitude of 10 to 15 feet above the waves, the aircraft dropped completely out of sight for almost four seconds.
Inside the Hummer, training kicked in; they sucked up the gear and blew the ditching hatches; everything in the cockpit was firewalled, and the controls were fervently set for climb.
Miraculously, the aircraft responded and climbed back into the frame in one dry piece. LT Halliwell didn’t take a chance on a recovering aboard with a potentially damaged hook, though. He recovered instead at Naval Station Norfolk Chambers Field, the East Coast home of the VAW community.
Back on the deck of the Eisenhower, the carnage was incredible. Injuries suffered by two of the deck crew and six VAW-123 maintainers ranged from cuts and bruises to broken arms, legs, ankles, and dislocated hips, and more, some of which took more than a year to heal.
At least one man’s life was saved by his “cranial”, the helmet every deck crewman wears while working on the roof. Six men were evacuated and treated ashore. A VRC-40 Rawhides C-2A (R) Greyhound and an HSC-7 Dusty Dogs MH-60R Knighthawk were damaged by the cable.
Two days later, the Ike was back conducting flight ops. The three men aboard the Hawkeye received the Armed Forces Air Medal. An investigation revealed that the arresting gear for the number 4 cross-deck pendant had been improperly serviced earlier in the day.
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The mishap aboard the Eisenhower was the first of its kind since 2005, when the #3 arresting cable on the carrier USS Kitty Hawk (CVA-63) snapped, causing the loss of a VFA-102 Diamondbacks F/A-18F Super Hornet and injuries to six of the Hawk’s deck crew. The crew of the F/A-18F was recovered.
From 1 June 2016 to 30 December 2016 CVW-3 aboard the Eisenhower during the carrier’s 2016 Med Cruise consisted of VFA-32 Fighting Swordsmen flying the Boeing F/A-18F Super Hornet, VFA-86 Sidewinders and VFA-105 Gunslingers flying the Boeing F/A-18E Super Hornet, VFA-131 Wildcats flying the old-school McDonnell Douglas (Boeing) F/A-18C(N) Hornet, VAQ-130 Zappers flying the Boeing EA-18G Growler, VAW-123 Screwtops flying the Grumman E-2C NP Hawkeye, HSC-7 Dusty Dogs flying the Sikorsky MH-60S Knighthawk, HSM-74 Swamp Foxes flying the Sikorsky MH-60R Seahawk, and a Detachment from VRC-40 Rawhides flying the Grumman C-2A(R) Greyhound.
Here’s the news story with pilot interviews also uploaded to YouTube by The Virginian-Pilot.
8.30.18
Ahhh………brings back fond memories. USS Saratoga 1959.
It’s a good thing he had propellers to spool it up in a hurry.
I believe that we had a similar close call with VAW 123 on a Med Cruise in 1977 or 1978 when i believe it was our XO missed all of the cables. Thank goodness it had the same outcome!