I mentioned before the almost ballet routine that played on the flight deck. It’s usually flawless and a sight to see. The real enjoyment is in knowing what the actors, or in this case sailors are doing. I suppose it’s like an opera, in that if you don’t know the story, it’s just some woman singing in a language you don’t understand.
In those days the launch crews had guys who were specialists in different fields depending on the needs of the squadron. But all of them had air frame mechanics on deck. One air frame mechanic checked the front strut for hydraulic leaks on the nose wheel and the landing gear under the wings for leaks and when the engines were turned up, and the bird was ready to taxi up to the catapults, the speed brakes were checked.
The speed brakes are one of those essential things, like brakes on your car that aren’t pretty so they aren’t accentuated. This A-6 speed brake was a rectangular cast aluminum wing like structure that was folded into the air frame during takeoff and flight, but was engaged before landing like two giant ears sticking out from the sides of the aircraft. That slowed the plane down considerably during approach and recovery.
The pilot was in the plane. The plane captain was directing the pilot through a series of hand signals to check the flaps, ailerons and other control surfaces, and the speed brakes. The sequence should have gone like this, plane captain signals pilot to engage the speed brakes, speed brakes open from the sides of the plane, the air frame mechanic sticks his head in to check for hydraulic leaks, signals plane captain, plane captain signals pilot to close brakes. On this day, the plane captain signaled the pilot to open the speed brakes; the mechanic stuck his head in to look for any leaking fluid, pulled his head out, the plane captain signaled the pilot to close the brakes. The mechanic must have thought he saw something at the last second and stuck his head back in to inspect it. The speed brakes closed and squashed his head. His head went from a melon size to a carton of cigarettes size. The plane captain saw what happened and signaled the pilot to open the brakes. The pilot opened the brakes and the mechanic collapsed to the ground. We heard that his body continued to function on some level for several hours, but there was no going home for that sailor.
I never knew his name; I just saw the accident and heard he died that night. That time the dance number went horribly wrong and as you can tell, I still see it happening today, many years later.
Copyright Bill Weber 2006-2019 and beyond.
In those days the launch crews had guys who were specialists in different fields depending on the needs of the squadron. But all of them had air frame mechanics on deck. One air frame mechanic checked the front strut for hydraulic leaks on the nose wheel and the landing gear under the wings for leaks and when the engines were turned up, and the bird was ready to taxi up to the catapults, the speed brakes were checked.
The speed brakes are one of those essential things, like brakes on your car that aren’t pretty so they aren’t accentuated. This A-6 speed brake was a rectangular cast aluminum wing like structure that was folded into the air frame during takeoff and flight, but was engaged before landing like two giant ears sticking out from the sides of the aircraft. That slowed the plane down considerably during approach and recovery.
The pilot was in the plane. The plane captain was directing the pilot through a series of hand signals to check the flaps, ailerons and other control surfaces, and the speed brakes. The sequence should have gone like this, plane captain signals pilot to engage the speed brakes, speed brakes open from the sides of the plane, the air frame mechanic sticks his head in to check for hydraulic leaks, signals plane captain, plane captain signals pilot to close brakes. On this day, the plane captain signaled the pilot to open the speed brakes; the mechanic stuck his head in to look for any leaking fluid, pulled his head out, the plane captain signaled the pilot to close the brakes. The mechanic must have thought he saw something at the last second and stuck his head back in to inspect it. The speed brakes closed and squashed his head. His head went from a melon size to a carton of cigarettes size. The plane captain saw what happened and signaled the pilot to open the brakes. The pilot opened the brakes and the mechanic collapsed to the ground. We heard that his body continued to function on some level for several hours, but there was no going home for that sailor.
I never knew his name; I just saw the accident and heard he died that night. That time the dance number went horribly wrong and as you can tell, I still see it happening today, many years later.
Copyright Bill Weber 2006-2019 and beyond.
No comments:
Post a Comment