Someone on the Navy carrier USS Harry S. Truman has some explaining to do after one of its F/A-18s was blown off the deck. The Navy confirmed the mishap occurred July 8 in the Mediterranean while the ship was undergoing a replenishment-at-sea. The Navy didn’t release any details but said it happened during “unexpected” heavy weather. One sailor was injured but is expected to make a full recovery.
The fighters are secured to the deck with chains and it’s not clear how this one got loose. The Navy said the replenishment was stopped but the carrier remains mission capable. There is, of course, an investigation. Depending on the model and configuration, Super Hornets cost between $30 million and $60 million.
Some lowly deck ape is going to Captain’s Mast.
If while replenishment ops underway, flight ops weren’t active so the “blowing” wasn’t from another jet.
From my days as a “deck ape” (Brown Shirt), that plane should have had a minimum of 18 chains. The bird would not have gone anywhere! Cruises on 2 carriers – USS Enterprise and USS America.
I probably wouldn’t qualify as a deck ape and if I did I’d probably be blown off the deck struggling to tie down expensive toys on deck unless lugging chains around, likely hold me down by sheer weight.
They probably skipped the “chaining down the aircraft on deck” training and concentrated on “diversity, inclusion, and equity” training.
Funny and not funny.
Having served a career, it sickens me! And the retired LtGen who got “fired” for an innocuous post-service comment about the first lady … What did I serve for … THIS ??
The officer of the deck will likely get a medal over it, though 🙁
Really, do you have to turn every single thing into a partisan political rant? It’s very tiresome, and I wish you would stop.
To be fair these comments are accurate and timely, and true in a sad sort of way.
Thanks for saying that. The internet is the final refuge for sprouting stuff that friends and family are sick of hearing.
Nailed it. No time to teach the fundamentals. Our country will pay dearly for allowing our military to be taken over by the mentally ill, perverse and racist 2% of the population. I actually believe that our current senior military leadership would make battlefield decisions based on diversity and inclusion over military strategy.
Did they or did they not skip the training Mike? Tell us all for a fact. The fact is that you don’t know. All of you self-made joyless impoverished political victims need to quit imagining things, cut the political bullshit here on AVweb and get back to aviation or shut the hell up!
Left….down the hall, passed the espresso machine – 1st door on the left. Marked ‘Safe Room”.
…that should be “past”…. I’m so triggered myself I cant focus.
Yes John, I can state as fact, based on personal observations during 23 years of enlisted and commissioned Naval service on aircraft carriers, in air wings, and in aviation squadrons, and another 20 years in DoD support at the 4 star level, that essential training has been compromised in order to pursue politically correct training. Perhaps had you served you would be able to make the same comment based on personal observation, but likely it was too comfortable for you in the faculty lounge to be bothered getting your hands dirtied in the real world.
And, by the way, my life is filled with joy, but tinged with sadness at the state of our military. Were you a worthy citizen, you might feel that same sadness.
😂😂🫣🫣
I can just hear it now over the 5MC – “Bug overboard!”
Not as bad as many years ago when they lost an A-4 off the elevator complete with a pilot and nuclear weapon.
When you’re having a bad day at work, just realize that it’s not “lost a Super Hornet off the side of an aircraft carrier” bad.