Injury on the flight deck

Mech, Winter, 2003 by Rob Cassidy

I had had good day as the air-wing safety duty officer: a few minor incidents but nothing serious. My comfort zone was shattered early that night when one of our AEs was injured on the flight deck. I was notified of the incident and was called to write an initial report on the facts.

It was a night like any other after a month at sea. The deck and crews were beginning to get into a solid rhythm. The ship and air-wing team was becoming a model of efficiency. But this night would not remain routine.

While an S-3 was taxiing from its parking spot in the landing area to cat 3 for launch, the wheels became stuck in the arresting wires. In an effort to taxi free of the wires, the crew added power and taxied through.

Maintainers positioned themselves for final checks, but one AE2 shifted position and found out why you must maintain situational awareness at all times on the flight deck. He walked behind his aircraft just as the crew in the Viking increased engine power. He was blown backward toward the round down, and stopped only when he collided with a parked tow tractor.

His clash with the tow tractor ended with lacerations and a broken femur. The bone broke clean through. He was flown off the carrier the next day and eventually was sent home to heal.

Several things could have been done differently to avoid this unfortunate mishap. The maintainer should have been aware of the danger brewing and waited to step behind the aircraft. He also underestimated the power of an S-3's exhaust and assumed it would not blow him down. The taxi director's responsibility is to keep the area clear. He gave the crew the signal to power up, even though someone was in the blast area. The aircrew could have told the Air Boss that they needed to come up on power in the wires--even though no requirement exists to tell him. The Boss has tremendous situational awareness and the 5MC, and his involvement from the tower may have been enough to prevent the incident.

The biggest lesson learned is talked about and constantly reviewed, but it often is ignored: Sailors must maintain situational awareness on the flight deck at all times. They must "see" an unsafe situational ready to develop before it becomes a real danger.

Ltjg. Cassidy flies with VS-30.