U.S. NAVY AIRCRAFT CARRIER LANDING MISHAPS & CRASHES Training Film 9002

- a Navy pilot his first landing on a carrier is a challenge and when the challenge is successfully met there's a real feeling of accomplishment and this feeling persists even after several hundred landings obviously carrier operations do impose various different responses and requirements than land-based operations but these conditions also offer certain advantages the ship is moving away from the pilot as he approaches and his closure rate on the ship is some 30 knots less than ashore so he has more time to make corrections in his approach his glide slope is shallower there is seldom a crosswind when he touches down he is not concerned with stopping his aircraft the arresting gear does the job and if problems developed the crash crew is standing by as his experience increases the pilot begins to feel that trapping aboard a carrier is preferable in many ways to landing ashore still even with this confidence backed by growing experience and accumulated skill accidents do happen the result is a tremendous waste of human life and material resources more than half of all Navy aircraft accidents occur during shipboard operations in many cases the fault lies with the pilot these accidents can be prevented by naval aviators who understand what causes mishaps and the actions required to avoid them all accidents except those involving material failures can be prevented or the consequences minimized in this film we've included accidents recorded on carrier flat systems the film quality is not outstanding but the action illustrates the necessity for constant alertness on the part of the naval aviator in all phases of carrier operations first let's see what can happen at the catapult make sure you use the catapult grip and friction lock the friction lock holds the throttle at full power so your throttle hand is free to retract the landing gear after you're airborne some pilots fail to maintain the proper attitude off the bow consequently they settle below flight deck level sometimes into the water in the case of an early braking hold back or bridle or launch bar failure cut power to idle and try to stop the aircraft with brakes if you can't stop eject get out before going over the edge while the plane is in the best attitude for ejection on a soft cat shot if your end speed is below minimum for your weight and configuration eject while you can still hold the nose up realize that in these days of highly reliable catapults most soft shots are pilot caused by accepting an improper weight on the weight board know your minimum airspeed and set your bud sometimes you may be able to jettison your external load to reduce weight and drag to maintain flight if you're out of the envelope of your seat jettison the canopy so it won't be damaged and failed to open underwater blowing a tire on the catapult is generally no problem on launch have the landing gear inspected by another aircraft or the tower in extremes for example no rubber left on the wheel you may have to make a barricade arrest Minh if your engine should fail during launch eject immediately again attitude and rate of descent are the governing factors in the decision to eject or ditch there is always a possibility that the aircraft control systems can malfunction during a cat shot if this happens try to regain control but realize you have very little altitude and airspeed to work with rudder aileron or nose trim may be your only means of control ejection may be the more prudent decision the arresting gear like all mechanical devices has also been known to fail if the arresting cable breaks or the arresting engine fails during rollout you may be faced with an ejection situation if this happens to you you'll notice that you're essentially taxiing at a high speed toward the end of the angle before reaching the end of the flight deck eject generally if you feel any deceleration the gear has already slowed you below flying speed accidents can also occur in taxiing on the deck close team work is vital between the pilot and the director the pilot must react immediately to the directors signals if you're not responsive to the director if you taxi too fast if you're using too much power if you miss a turn the result can be a crunch or an aircraft over the side you can get similar results from aircraft mechanical failure you might lose your brakes coming out of the arresting gear the space on a ship is limited it doesn't leave much room for maneuvering even with brakes so drop your hook use your emergency brake if you have one or use nosewheel steering to deck loop signal for Chuck's under your wheels report on UHF 5 to 4 and a gear I lost my brakes get some chalk center that aircraft in the gear if you can't get it stopped eject while you're in the envelope of the seat if the characteristics of the seat prevent ejection jettison canopy before you enter the water most brake failures are diagnosed by alert pilots when they pump them after lowering the landing gear however the impact of landing may render the brakes ineffective so before you come out of the gear and come on with too much power make sure your brakes are functioning check them on the rollback then ride the brakes a little before gaining momentum if you lose your brakes at night turn on lights and drop your hook always make a transmission 5 to 4 and here I've lost my brakes sometimes a pilot coming out of the gear will taxi too fast in his desire to get across the foul line in his attempt to slow the speed his brakes might lock or he hits oil on the deck and parks his bird in the catwalk or uses another aircraft for an expensive shock there are fixed procedures for operating on the flight deck but sometimes situations may arise that require just plain common sense for example don't let the deck crew remove the tie-downs if you anticipate getting a severe blast from planes taxiing ahead of you especially if there are larger planes aircraft have been blasted over the side however if the situation arises where it is obvious that your plane is going over the side eject while you are still in the envelope think about situations where you require to make an ejection decision stick with your decision go another situation which can face you while taxine occurs when the ship is turning particularly prior to launch as the ship turns into the wind use brakes and power to hold the aircraft in position strangely enough most accidents occur when the pilot has the most control during approach and landing during your approach to a carrier landing there are three variables meatball lineup and airspeed on the downwind leg trim your aircraft for optimum angle of attack prior to reaching the abeam position the standard turn for your type of aircraft will bring you into position for the final approach if your turn is too tight you will have an angling approach if your turn is too shallow you will have an overshooting approach you should complete your turn on speed lined up and at the proper altitude to intercept the meatball extending aft from the port side of the ship the glide slope beam is computer stabilized to correct for pitch and roll of the ship the start is when you roll your wings level on the glide slope the first 1/3 of the approach is referred to as the middle the second 1/3 is in the groove in close is 5 to 10 seconds out anything closer is at the ramp now let's see and discuss some glide slope Corrections if your approach is high reduce power to increase rate of descent as the meatball approaches the center add sufficient power to reduce rate of descent to optimum large power reductions require corresponding large power additions to halt aircraft momentum so a third intermediate power setting is usually required to maintain optimum glide slope a high and fast condition must be corrected early in the approach a large power reduction is necessary increased the attitude of the aircraft to decrease airspeed to optimum angle of attack it is necessary to correct the airspeed first to achieve proper hook to I value so the pilot is obtaining accurate glideslope information maintain optimum angle of attack and proceed as in correcting a high the possible consequences of the very large power reduction necessary to correct for this condition are decelerating to a slow or developing a large rate of sink which is difficult to control and may result in a settle below the glide slope accidents can occur when an aviator fails to correct for the high or high and fast early in the approach he either remains high all the way with a greater sink rate at touchdown and a possible bolter or he settles below the glide slope in close to at the ramp and winds up in a ramp strike if your approach is low add power to decrease the rate of descent as you approach optimum glide slope reduce power to prevent the aircraft from climbing through the glide slope then follow through with an intermediate power correction to maintain the centered ball in a low and slow condition your primary concern is to fly the aircraft back to optimum glide slope this requires a large power addition when a positive rate of climb is achieved the attitude of the aircraft is lowered to obtain optimum angle of attack approaching optimum glide slope a rather large power reduction is necessary to prevent the aircraft from climbing through the glide slope or accelerating an intermediate power addition is required to stabilize the aircraft on the glide slope and prevent another settle the most obvious accident that can occur when settling below the glide slope is a liquid landing if the pilot doesn't get as low as the water he might still hit the ramp more subtle problems arise on the secondary correction off the low the pilot gets up to optimum glide slope but fails to maintain it and settles to a low again more often the pilot climbs through the glide slope flies over the top and Boulter's corrections in close are very difficult the primary complication is that as the aircraft gets closer to the deck the space within the glide slope theme for making Corrections gets smaller and smaller the pilot is faced with getting over the ramp and not passing through the glide slope to a bolter a related problem is the settle in the middle this situation is especially common at night when depth perception is almost non-existent this lack of depth perception can cause a mild case of vertigo a feeling that the aircraft is too high if the pilot looks only at the deck the optimum glide slope appears to be too high at night so he must believe in the meatball and fight his urge to make the deck look right the situation is extremely critical in approaches where the pilot breaks out at or close to minimums when he breaks out it's only natural for him to want to look at the deck if he doesn't concentrate on the meatball he will pull power off thinking is high at minimums there is very little time for corrections pilots who get aboard regularly on the first pass at night our firm believers in the reliability of the meatball an obvious concern in a carrier approach is line up it is important to establish line up early in the approach late line up corrections can cause glide slope problems remember the ship is moving so your point of reference is constantly moving to your right this point of reference is the intersection formed by the straight deck and the angled deck for normal winds down the angled deck pointing your nose toward this intersection will provide you with sufficient crab to keep lined up remember that a lineup correction reduces lift because of the Bank angle and the increased drag caused by control deflection therefore lineup Corrections require additional power to prevent a settle below the glide slope or a d-cell this should be followed by a reduction in power as wings are level to maintain the glide slope one problem with late line up is that the pilot usually does not observe meet ball movement while looking at his lineup cues that can be serious remember that a late lineup attempt may not guarantee proper lineup at touchdown air speed control is primarily a function of aircraft attitude there are many basic reasons why the aircraft must be on speed these include the structural limits of the aircraft and the strength of the arresting gear an aircraft that is too fast may exceed either or both of these limits also the aircraft must maintain adequate airspeed for acceptable control if it gets too slow control is degraded past the point of safety an extreme example is the stall where the aircraft stops flying finally proper hook to ramp clearance is predicated on the hook - I value for a non speed aircraft if the airspeed is too fast the aircraft has a flatter attitude than optimum and the tail hook is actually higher than the meatball would lead the pilot to believe on the other hand in a slow or cocked up attitude the tail hook is lower now that we've explained how some accidents can happen let's look at a few results of improper procedures to help prevent such accidents today's carriers have many aides to bring you safely home but the LSO is still a vital factor in your success he brings to the operation human judgement based on extensive experience from his position he can see more clearly than the pilot when problems begin to develop in the approach the LSO is in constant radio communication with his pickle switch he controls the wave off and cut lights he has a hook to ramp indicator to keep him apprised of deck and glide slope conditions he has a true airspeed readout on aircraft in the groove there is a basic angle repeater that gives the glide slope angle the roll angle indicator for proper hook to ramp clearance source datum light wave off and cut light brightness indicators and controls and many others to assist both the pilot and the LSO if a pilot is not set up safely on the glide slope on speed and lined up by the time he is in close it is the LSO's responsibility to give him a wave or wave off any wave off is mandatory to prevent a possible accident if this happens to you go to full power and maintain optimum angle of attack if your slow hold that angle of attack level your wings and climb straight ahead the landing gear is not raised until you're sure you're past the deck in flight engagement or engaging the wire while the aircraft is in a climb should never occur but it has in extreme situations and LSO may waive off an aircraft at the ramp to ensure that the aircraft will clear the ramp in this situation an over rotation on wave off could mean an in-flight engagement usually with disastrous results if you maintain optimum angle of attack you won't be involved in an in-flight engagement remember the meatball is not your only point of reference but it is the key to a safe approach the closer you get to the meatball the more accurate its information if you're lined up in the groove and maintaining proper glide slope and airspeed your corrections are minimized and a successful landing is assured some pilots fly how they feel instead of relying on the ball the meatball should be your main point of reference as you scan the entire landing situation an experienced pilot knows he has to fight this urge to fly the deck to the deck spotters the deck looks high so they settle next time it looks too low and they may not catch the compensating climb in time sometimes they wind up on the ramp or with a hard landing or bolter so keep your eye on the ball maintain lineup and angle of attack failure to observe these basic rules can be fatal anticipate those conditions where human failures lead to accidents and avoid them follow the procedures designed for your safety and the successful achievement of your mission know what you should do in all situations and when the time comes do it without hesitation you you

Channel: PeriscopeFilm

Views: 1,902,638

Rating: 4.6534967 out of 5

Keywords: Periscope Film, Stock Footage

Id: SPlqoeaPUu4

Length: 25min 9sec (1509 seconds)

Published: Sat Jan 05 2013