Conversation stopped as everyone in Air Ops looked toward the PLAT. The first aircraft of the recovery, Red River 201, flown by a marine captain on his second cruise, was coming in. The light cluster grew larger and the external strobe lights on the Hornet blinked every half second as the aircraft approached the ship at over 140 knots.
“You’re goin’ a lit-tle high,” Shakey said in his characteristic LSO bedroom voice. Wilson thought 201 looked way high, but Shakey was going to talk him down. He added a pitching deck call. “Deck’s movin’ a little, you’re high… coming down. You’re a lit-tle fast.”
Wilson felt the ship take a lurch and saw the crosshairs drop suddenly on the PLAT. As the Hornet reached the wave-off decision point, Shakey finally made the decision by squeezing the “pickle” switch. “Wave-off, pitching deck,” he radioed. At once Wilson saw the Hornet add power and disappear out of the top of the screen as it passed over the deck, much of the sound penetrating the flight deck into Air Ops.
“Oh for two,” The Big Unit said softly.
Wilson’s guys were next. Saint was at one mile, and despite the deck motion, appeared low and lined up left, as he was for most of the approach. Wilson shook his head imperceptibly. He just accepts being off, he thought.
“Four-zero-two, slightly below glide path, slightly left of course, three quarter mile, call the ball.”
“Four-oh-two Hornet ball, five-one.”
“Roger, ball, thirty-five knots.”
After the “ball” is called, radio communications are limited to the LSO only, and at that signal, the dozen pilots in Air Ops also ceased their whispered conversations. Instead, they watched the light cluster loom larger in the glide slope crosshairs. Saint was holding left, and Shakey, on the LSO platform, saw it, too, and coaxed him back to centerline. “You’re lined up a lit-tle left… Lined up left… Deck’s movin’ a little. You’re on glide path.”
Wilson saw Saint correct for line up, and as he did, he carried too much power and drove himself high. Wilson thought, for sure, his XO would bolter, but suddenly the aircraft took a lunge to the deck.
“ATTITUDE! PO-WER!”
Raven 402 slammed into the deck hard, and the sound of the Hornet at full power, straining against the number one arresting wire, filled Air Ops.
“Saint wasn’t going around,” murmured The Big Unit. Wilson heard him, but kept his eyes on his XO in the landing area. As the arresting wire was pulled back, the arresting hook was retracted too early and fouled the wire between the hook and the fuselage underside. Wilson knew why it happened… Saint raised the hook before the yellow shirt signaled him.
