{"id":35931,"date":"2019-08-08T16:41:38","date_gmt":"2019-08-08T16:41:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/uncategorized\/2019\/08\/08\/how-a-chief-nearly-died-on-a-carriers-flight-deck\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T19:33:05","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T19:33:05","slug":"how-a-chief-nearly-died-on-a-carriers-flight-deck","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/news\/your-navy\/2019\/08\/08\/how-a-chief-nearly-died-on-a-carriers-flight-deck\/","title":{"rendered":"How a chief nearly died on a carrier\u2019s flight deck"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Sailors unfamiliar with aircraft carrier life might assume that the pilots launching and landing on a flight deck face all the danger. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

But a crew helping to launch, recover, move and park those jets confronts many perils, including being knocked down by the force of jet exhaust.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Fractions of a second can determine life or death on a flight line, and that brutal reality became the focus of a Navy probe into a mishap that severely injured a chief in late 2017.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On the evening of Nov. 3, 2017, the chief aviation boatswain\u2019s mate (handling) was knocked off balance by one jet\u2019s exhaust as the aircraft carrier Carl Vinson<\/a> conducted launch and recovery training in the Pacific Ocean, southwest of San Diego, according to the report.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The chief tried to catch himself, fell and a second 31,500-pound F\/A-18E Super Hornet ran over his legs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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A graphic included in the command investigation shows how a chief was run over by a fighter jet in November 2017 aboard the aircraft carrier Carl Vinson. (Navy)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The injured chief\u2019s name was redacted in the command investigation copy provided to Navy Times in response to a Freedom of Information Act request.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Citing privacy and medical regulations, Naval Air Forces officials declined to say whether he remained in the service or was medically discharged.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The aircraft handling officer in flight deck control told the investigator of the mishap that sailors are blown off balance on carrier decks all the time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201c(The officer) indicated that it happened daily in his 26 years of experience,\u201d the investigator wrote.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThere were only two ways to recover from losing your balance because of jet blast: either continue to run in the direction you were blown to regain your balance or get to the deck and grab a padeye,\u201d the officer told the investigator.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A padeye is a metal loop attached to the deck that\u2019s used to secure ropes, chains or cables.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cDuring qualification and familiarization, people are warned of the dangers of jet exhaust and educated on recovery procedures but that experience is only gained by being on the flight deck,” the lieutenant commander told the investigator.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Given \u201cthis scenario, no one could have gotten out of this situation,\u201d the officer added. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Naval Air Forces<\/a> doesn\u2019t track how many sailors get knocked down by jet exhaust, but spokesman Lt. Travis Callaghan acknowledged the incidents happen daily and that in most cases, \u201cthe severity is very low and require no medical attention.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cSafety is Naval Aviation\u2019s top priority and although the flight deck can be a high-intensity environment, our flight deck teams are the best trained in the world and will always endeavor to minimize risk,\u201d he wrote in an email.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The chief was fully qualified for flight deck operations and his superiors did not discipline anyone involved in the mishap.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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An image from the command investigation shows the second a jet at right’s exhaust struck a chief boatswain’s mate (handling). The chief can be seen at left. He fell into the path of the jet at left and was run over. (Navy)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

At 6:22 p.m. that day, the first jet was directed to taxi off the catapult after its launch was suspended because of a glitch in an exterior light on the aircraft, \u201ca standard yet infrequent occurrence,\u201d the report states.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As that first aircraft taxied forward on the ship\u2019s right side, a crew was towing a second jet behind it, and the chief was acting as the starboard wing walker.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When the first Super Hornet began to turn, the jet\u2019s exhaust blew the chief back, according to the report.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He stumbled, slammed into the second strike fighter, fell and his legs were run over.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A crew member who watched the chief topple blew a whistle to stop all movement on the deck.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

An ensign and a chief ran up to the stricken man \u201cand assessed him as having severe injuries to both his legs with visible blood and the possibility of severed legs,\u201d the report states.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He was initially unconscious, but shipmates rubbed his sternum until he awakened and moved him to the flight deck battle dressing station.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI don\u2019t know what happened,\u201d the chief said. \u201cI can\u2019t feel my legs.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Another chief aviation boatswain\u2019s mate (handling) told the investigator he thought the injured man\u2019s legs were already severed but had been contained within his flight deck pants.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As he was moved, the injured man \u201cexpressed remorse for allowing this to happen and that he was sorry that the incident occurred and that he did not want his mother to find out about the incident from anyone but his sisters,\u201d the report states.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

His \u201cblood and tissue\u201d were left on the flight decks, and a medical captain assessed the chief to have suffered severe \u201cde-gloving\u201d on both legs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

De-gloving occurs when skin is ripped from the tissue beneath it, like taking off a glove. In his right leg, the shin bones had shattered and his calf muscle detached, among other injuries.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The captain suspected \u201cthat major and probably multiple surgeries would be required if there was any chance to save (the chief\u2019s) right leg from amputation,\u201d the report states.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He was soon flown off the carrier and to Scripps Memorial Hospital in San Diego.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The report does not indicate what happened to the chief after that but the carrier\u2019s medical team instituted several reforms in the wake of the mishap.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For example, a hospitalman third class told investigators that the supplies in the battle dressing station\u2019s mass casualty kit \u201cwere barely enough\u201d for one patient and recommended they stock more bandaging material.<\/p>\n\n\n\t