I was landing behind an EA-6B some years ago and the arresting gear was set for the wrong weight, too light for the aircraft and as the arresting wire was played out it reached the end and snapped. The 60+ million plane dribbled off the end of the landing area and fell into the Pacific. Just prior to the aircraft nosing over all 4 guys ejected. What a sight! I really never gave it a thought that could have been me. Arresting wires are used for a certain number of “hits”, the number is probably classified so I won’t reveal it but it’s quite high when you consider there’s 4 of them
When landing, Navy pilots are taught to go to afterburner when cable catches. At the start of each day, each one of the 4 cables is inspected and if there any frays, the cable is thrown over board and a new one installed.
